MobiFone, one of Vietnam’s largest mobile phone networks, may be allowed to sell a maximum 20 per cent stake to foreign investors, Tuoi Tre Newspaper said Thursday.
Some large telecoms companies including Vodafone and France Telecom are eyeing to acquire stake in MobiFone. The Sweden Millicom has reaffirmed it will continue investing in MobiFone. Its arm, Comvik, has cooperated with the Vietnamese firm since 1995.
As planned, MobiFone will open a bid to select partners for its privatization advisors in late December, so that it can launch IPO in early second quarter of 2008.
“We expect to carry out IPO in May or June next year. The privatization of MobiFone is rather slow because different competent authorities get involved in, and it is the first largest state-owned telecom company to be privatized,” said Le Ngoc Minh, director of Vietnam Mobile Services Co. (VMS), which manages MobiFone.
MobiFone is rated among Vietnam’s top 20 companies by UNDP.
MobiFone reported an additional 3.3 million subscribers by end-September, raising its total subscribers nationwide to 9 million, accounting for 30 per cent of the country’s market share. It targets to hold 38.7 per cent of local market share in 2008 to become the country’s top market share owner.
The company has seen its revenue growth of 40 per cent and profit growth of 55 per cent over the past five years.
MobiFone expects to earmark VND9.7 trillion in revenues this year, up from VND9.1 trillion ($568.7 million) in 2006.
Vietnam presently has six mobile phone networks serving 24 million subscribers, with Vinaphone, Viettel Mobile and MobiFone being the largest. (Youth, Vietnam Post)
Vietnamese
