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Telstra, Telenor, Comvik International reportedly show renewed interest in Vietnamese operator.
Telstra, Telenor and Comvik International are all still interested in taking a stake in Vietnam’s Mobifone, which is expected to launch a long-awaited IPO at some point this year.
Representatives from Telstra and Telenor have held fresh meetings with Mobifone’s parent, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), to express interest in investing in the operator, according to an unnamed official at Mobifone, who was cited in a report by VnEconomy on Wednesday.
The report claimed that Comvik International is also keen to rekindle its relationship with Mobifone.
Under a business cooperation contract (BCC), Sweden-based Comvik used to own a 45% stake in Mobifone, with the remaining 55% held by Vietnam Post and Telecommunication (VNPT), parent of rival mobile operator Vinaphone. When the BCC expired in 2005, Comvik’s Mobifone stake passed to VNPT.
In 2014, Mobifone was separated from VNPT and placed under the management of the MIC, after a cross-ownership law was enacted preventing one company from owning more than 20% of two competing telcos.
Telstra also has history with Vietnam.
The Australian incumbent built satellite earth stations for VNPT for routing international voice traffic. It also helped to develop Vietnam’s fixed-line infrastructure under a BCC that expired in 2003.
Speculation about foreign investment in Mobifone has ebbed and flowed ever since the government’s first attempt to list the operator in 2006. For reasons that remain unclear, that plan was abandoned, only to be revived in 2014 after the cross-ownership law came into force.
Mobifone has yet to make its stock market debut. In April, it sold its shares in two state-owned banks, which was in line with its IPO plan; however, there is still nothing to suggest a listing is imminent.
