MobiFone urged to detach from VNPT

February 17, 2014 | 08:59

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MobiFone, one of Vietnam’s three largest mobile network operators, should be separated from its parent company VNPT, which is also the operator of Vinaphone – MobiFone’s rival in the market, experts with knowledge on the matter said at a seminar on Friday.

The two said mobile operators, along with military-run Viettel, are dominating the country’s telecom market with nearly 95 percent market share.

But paradoxically, all of these three players of the competitive market belong to the government, which holds a 100 percent stake at each business, said Pham Hong Hai, head of the telecom department under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Moreover, even though they are rivals, MobiFone and Vinaphone are under the same umbrella as they both belong to VNPT, fully known as Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group.

Under a master plan to restructure VNPT, the Prime Minister has chaired several meetings to determine whether MobiFone or Vinaphone should be split from VNPT.

The final solution reached upon was that MobiFone would be separated and privatized to become the Mobile Information Corporation, according to Hai.

VNPT CEO Tran Manh Hung said detaching MobiFone from the parent company would yield better result than with Vinaphone, as MobiFone is strong enough to compete with the two rivals following the separation.

The detached, privatized MobiFone will also take over the liability worth VND1.6 trillion (US$75.47 million) from VNPT, which its CEO Le Ngoc Minh confirmed that the company is totally capable of handling.

VNPT chief Hung also said the sum is modest compared to MobiFone’s total earnings last year, which topped VND6 trillion

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