VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Information & Communications (MoIC) is expected to complete the equitization plan for Mobifone – one of the three largest mobile networks in Vietnam – and submit it to the Government in the fourth quarter.

VNPT headquarters in Hanoi.

Mobifone split from the Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group (VNPT) this June and will be under the direct management of the MoIC. This is part of the plan to restructure VNPT.

Minister Nguyen Bac Son said the Ministry aims to finalize the restructuring of VNPT this year so that the group can operate in the new model from 2015. This process will include the transfer of three VNPT’s subsidiaries (including Mobifone) to the Ministry.

Minister Son said after the restructuring, VNPT will assume the role of the parent group to invest in its subsidiaries rather than doing business directly. This model is expected to help streamline the apparatus of the parent company, which currently has up to 18 departments and a few hundred staff.

He added that part of VNPT’s 53,500 employees will become redundant so VNPT needs to have funds to deal with this issue. He expected that VNPT’s subsidiaries will participate more in the production of hardware devices, similar to what the Viettel Group is doing.

For Mobifone, after splitting from VNPT, the telecom company will be re-organized in the third quarter and will be equitized. The equitization plan will be submitted to the government this fourth quarter. Under this scheme, VNPT can hold about 20 percent of the charter capital of Mobifone, the maximum rate permitted under the cross-ownership rules in the Telecommunications Act of 2009.

According to the HCM City Securities Company (HSC), the present value of Mobifone is estimated at $3.4 billion. This figure may be more than $4 billion if its revenue and profits continue to rise after splitting from VNPT.

Na Son