Vietnamese firm holds controlling stake in formerly Hutchison-led Vietnamobile

illustration photo source vneconomy.vn

Specifically, Vietnamobile JSC has three shareholders namely Hanoi Telecommunication Joint Stock Company, which holds a 50 per cent stake, Hutchison Telecommunications (Vietnam) S.À.R.L, which holds a 49 per cent stake and individual investor Trinh Minh Chau, general director of Hanoi Telecommunication Joint Stock Company, holds a 1 per cent stake.

According to law firm Baker and McKenzie, a JSC is a recognised legal entity under Vietnamese law and shareholders are responsible for the debts and liabilities of the enterprise to the extent of the amount of their contributed capital. A JSC has the right to issue securities in order to raise capital and it may list on a securities exchange. A BCC is a contractual relationship akin to a partnership which does not create a new legal entity but which is licensed to engage in business activities in respect of a specific project in Vietnam.

The total investment capital is $1.248 billion. The project is going to be carried out in 50 years since it received the investment certificate to be issued soon by the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment.

In 2005, Hutchison Telecommunications (Vietnam) S.A.R.L received the investment license from the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam to permit it to engage in business cooperation under a BCC with Hanoi Telecommunication Joint Stock Company to build, operate and develop a mobile telecommunications network in Vietnam. Under the BCC, the business cooperation will develop a CDMA2000 network to provide mobile telecommunications services in Vietnam. The license was granted for the duration of 15 years.

The Vietnamobile network started operation in April 2009. According to data by the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications (MIC), in 2015 the number of 2G and 3G subscribers of Vietnamobile was about 11 million, compared to a total of 120.6 million in Vietnam. It has the 4^th biggest market share, behind the three major networks namely Viettel, MobiFone and VinaPhone, and before GMobile.