HA NOI — Saigon Post and Telecommunications Corporation (Saigon Postel) plans to seek strategic investors to develop Viet Nam's CDMA technology-based mobile operator S-Fone.
Saigon Postel is planning to sell a 20-30 per cent stake in the mobile phone provider.
CDMA Mobile Phone Centre's S-Fone is the first national mobile phone network to use CDMA in Viet Nam. The firm is a joint venture between Saigon Postel and South Korea's SK Telecom.
S-Fone, which launched in 2003, is set to become a joint venture in which the Korean firm will hold a 20 per cent stake and its Vietnamese partner, the remaining share.
"The scheme of changing the form of our investment into a joint venture was approved by the Government," said Ho Hong Son, Saigon Postel's general director, adding that the company would buy back SK Telecom's 20 per cent stake in the next two years.
During this period, Saigon Postel also planned to seek new investors and sell 20-30 per cent of its stake to investors who are financially strong and well-managed, Son said.
He said the three largest mobile providers – VinaPhone, MobiFone and Viettel – held a 90 per cent market share, making it difficult for other telecoms service providers to compete.
"To be well-prepared for this long-distance race, other small carriers such as S-Fone have to ceaselessly improve their investment and management capacity and have a flexible business strategy," Son said, emphasising the importance of sound finances.
It is thought that another Korean firm and FPT Telecom are interested in investing in S-Fone, but Son declined to disclose information on potential new investors.
S-Fone currently has 7.3 million CDMA subscribers, a market share of less than 10 per cent.Source: vnagency.com.vn
No comments:
Post a Comment