MobiFone to get charter capital of 600 million USD

Hanoi, July 1 (VNA) - MobiFone, the second-largest Vietnamese mobile network operator, will have a charter capital of 12.60 trillion VND or 600 million USD. This was announced in Decision No 877 of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), issued on June 30. The separation of the firm from the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) will be carried out based on its accounts documents, inventory and financial reports of first six months of this year. The company is required to operate in five main sectors, namely construction, running and providing telecommunications and IT services, and assembling and producing electronic, telecom and IT parts. MobiFone will be detached from VNPT and be under the management of the ministry from July 1. The demerger follows a recent decision by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to approve a restructuring plan proposed by VNPT. The Prime Minister also asked the MIC to submit a plan to the Government on Mobifone's equitisation expected this year. The equitisation plan will see the State retain a 75 percent stake in Mobifone Communications Corporation, with 25 percent to be held by investors, including foreign shareholders. Minister of Communication and Information Nguyen Bac Son said the detachment of MobiFone from VNPT and its equitisation would create a healthy telecommunications market. Local subscribers would benefit from the competition, he said. According to Pham Hong Hai, head of the MIC's Telecoms Department, splitting MobiFone from VNPT would allow MobiFone to consolidate its strong telecommunications brand both at home and abroad. Founded in 1993 as a GSM launcher, MobiFone was the first mobile carrier in Vietnam, followed by two other major operators, namely Vinaphone in 1996 and Viettel in 2003.-VNA