France Telecom wins contract to install 540,000 telephone lines in Vietnam
France Telecom has signed a Business Cooperation Contract (BCC) with
Vietnamese post office and telecommunications operator VNPT, as part of
Vietnam's program to develop its telecommunications networks. The contract
covers the installation of 540,000 telephone lines over a period of five
years in Ho Chi Minh province, with revenue sharing for 15 years. The
required investment amounts to approximately $470 million.
In addition to France Telecom's technical expertise and investment capacity,
its subsidiary France Câbles et Radio (FCR) will provide organizational
assistance and transfer of know-how. The license required to start
operations should be signed shortly by the Vietnamese government.
France Telecom offers extensive experience in the development, operation and
modernization of telecommunications networks in Latin America, Asia and
Africa. Through FCR, it is proposing a technical and financial partnership
that will enable VNPT to quickly meet its ambitious equipment installation
and service quality goals.
The Business Cooperation Contract focuses on two key areas:
Financing and installation (switching, transmission, cabling) of 540,000
new lines, doubling the current number. Management assistance for the
operator, involving the seconding of experts in all areas, as well as
sustained training programs, to ensure concrete transfer of know-how.
This contract consolidates France Telecom's position in Asia, considered a
key market for the group's international development. It also strengthens
ties with Vietnam, with which France Telecom has enjoyed a relationship
since installing an earth station in Da Nang in 1990.
FCR, already present in Argentina and Mexico since late 1990, won a major
contract for France Telecom in September 1995, covering the installation of
516,000 telephone lines in the Indonesian island of Sumatra, over a period
of three years. Last February, FCR acquired a 51 percent stake in CI-Telcom,
the operator for Côte d'Ivoire. On July 21, 1997, France Telecom, via FCR,
acquired one-third of the Senegalese national operator, Sonatel, becoming a
strategic partner to the government.
With consolidated revenues of approximately $29.6 billion and 33 million
telephone lines, France Telecom is the world's fourth largest
telecommunications carrier. In addition to its local and long-distance
telephone businesses, France Telecom offers both businesses and consumers a
variety of services, including data transmission, wireless telephony,
Internet access, cable TV, multimedia and value-added services. On December
31, 1996, France Telecom became a "Société Anonyme", a French public
corporation.
Operating in more than 50 countries, and with over 160,000 employees
worldwide, France Telecom exports its expertise in accelerated network
modernization, wireless services, engineering and consulting.
A major milestone in the group's international development came in January
1996, when France Telecom teamed up with Deutsche Telekom and Sprint of the
United States to create the joint venture Global One, which offers a single
source for the solution of voice and data needs of businesses, carriers, and
consumers around the world.
France Telecom, July 29, 1997
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