Ha Noi (VNA) – Comvik International Viet Nam AB (CIV) on December 19 said it wants to be a strategic partner of MobiFone when Viet Nam ’s leading mobile company equitises next year.
The company, a subsidiary of Sweden-based Millicom International Cellular SA, said it wants to use MobiFone as a springboard into Viet Nam ’s lucrative telecom market.
Millicom International Cellular SA’s general director Marc Beuls said only 30 percent of the population in Viet Nam use mobile phones, meaning the market has great potential for telecom investors such as Comvik.
Marc said CIV had a 10-year Business Cooperation Contract (BCC) with MobiFone and is therefore knowledgeable about Viet Nam ’s telecom market.
According to the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications, the BCC between MobiFone and CIV was very successful, with CIV investing more than 200 million USD in the MobiFone network from July 1, 1995 until the contract ended two years ago.
In a separate development, MobiFone is likely to be allowed to sell 20 percent of its shares to foreign investors when it equitises, according to a source close to the company.
CIV, a subsidiary of the Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), plans to launch its IPO next February, with VNPT retaining a one-third stake in the company. Strategic investors would hold another third, while the remaining shares would be sold to the public.
Earlier, the Ha Noi-based firm shortlisted six international finance firms – Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Rothschild and UBS – to advise the company on its equitisation.
Meanwhile, Vodafone, BT, Singtel and Telenor have expressed interest in acquiring MobiFone shares and forming a strategic partnership with the Vietnamese mobile service provider.
MobiFone currently has more than ten million subscribers, representing nearly 40 percent of the market. Its main rivals are the military-run Viettle – currently the market leader – and the State-run Vinaphone, which is also controlled by VNPT.-Enditem
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