New trademark for post-Beeline in the pipelines

>> VimpelCom announced to withdraw from GTel

Though Gtel leaders told Tuoi Tre there will be no need to hurry, a new brand will help the company serve existing customers as well as continue to grow in the local market.

"Currently, we continue to use the Beeline brand in the next six months as well as prepare for a new brand,” Nguyen Van Du, deputy director of Gtel Mobile, told Tuoi Tre. 

“The launch time will be announced in an appropriate time. The new brand will be developed to inherit from the strengths and advantages of the current brand, " he said.

Regarding the company's development strategy, he said: "We understand that the brand plays an important role in business but the brand will be strong only when coupled with good products and the benefits it can bring to the consumers.”

“As a result, we think that our priority is ensuring customers’ interests, always bringing new products and unique services with the most benefits to consumers in Vietnam.”

“The target has always been focused on and Gtel Mobile will continue to promote in the future."

Russian telecommunications service provider VimpelCom late last month announced the entire sale of its stake in Gtel Mobile to a Vietnamese partner and the trademark Beeline will disappear from the local market in the next six months.

The 49 per cent stake has been sold to a local one-member enterprise, Gtel Transmit and Infrastructure Service Co Ltd, at $45 billion, making Gtel Mobile a 100 per cent locally-owned company.

Under the terms of the agreement, the trademark Beeline will be no longer available after six months since the date of transition. Another brand name will replace so as to be in line with this local firm’s business strategies.

Nguyen Van Du, deputy general director of Gtel Mobile, affirmed continued provision of telecommunications service in Vietnam.

“Inheriting previous valuable experience gained from cooperation with VimpelCom, we will keep investing and implementing further mobile services. Beeline mobile subscribers’ interests will be guaranteed”, he told newswire Vnexpress.

Earlier in mid 2011, VimpelCom revealed the intention to invest additional $500 million in the Beeline mobile network until the end of 2013.

This foreign firm then announced the investment of $196 million in Gtel Mobile so as to raise the ownership ratio at the domestic partner to 49 per cent.

VimpleCom is a leading telecommunications services operator in East Europe and Middle East.

The joint venture between Gtel Mobile and VimpelCom gave birth to the Beeline network onto the market in July 2009 making it Vietnam’s seventh mobile service provider. 

Though being a newly-born one, the venture has drawn a great deal of attention by impressive promotional programs, particularly the , low-cost service package named “SMS Millionaires”.