Vinh,
who is also Vinaphone’s director, said on Monday that the Ministry of
Information and Communications has green-lighted the merger plan.
“The ministry will then submit the plan for final approval from the government,” he said.
Under the merger process, VNPT will keep the mobile networks and infrastructures of the two telecom providers, the state-run telecom giant said.
After merging, the two mobile service operators will mutually exploit VNPT’s network infrastructures, while the mobile phone numbers of their subscribers will be maintained.
The merger decision came about after the government last year issued a new regulation on telecom ownership, which came into effect on June 1, 2011, stipulating that an investor with more than a 20 percent stake in one telecom firm cannot own more than 20 percent in another.
The new rule has forced VNPT, which owns 100 percent of both VinaPhone and MobiFone, to choose between divesting from one of the two operators, or merging them.
It is thus a dilemma for VNPT, as both VinaPhone and MobiFone are too lucrative to give up, with the latter contributing half of VNPT’s total profits, market analysts said.
However, merging the two networks would create a giant mobile phone company that could hurt competition in the market, they warned.
“The ministry will then submit the plan for final approval from the government,” he said.
Under the merger process, VNPT will keep the mobile networks and infrastructures of the two telecom providers, the state-run telecom giant said.
After merging, the two mobile service operators will mutually exploit VNPT’s network infrastructures, while the mobile phone numbers of their subscribers will be maintained.
The merger decision came about after the government last year issued a new regulation on telecom ownership, which came into effect on June 1, 2011, stipulating that an investor with more than a 20 percent stake in one telecom firm cannot own more than 20 percent in another.
The new rule has forced VNPT, which owns 100 percent of both VinaPhone and MobiFone, to choose between divesting from one of the two operators, or merging them.
It is thus a dilemma for VNPT, as both VinaPhone and MobiFone are too lucrative to give up, with the latter contributing half of VNPT’s total profits, market analysts said.
However, merging the two networks would create a giant mobile phone company that could hurt competition in the market, they warned.
Tuoi
Tre
Business & Investment Opportunities
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