Elec Of Vietnam to invest VND3.18 trillion in mobile phone operations
HANOI - State-owned Electricity of Vietnam Corp., or EVN, plans to invest VND3.184 trillion ($200 million) to expand the network of its mobile phone unit, Vietnam Power Telecom Co., a company official said Thursday. VP Telecom plans to build a nationwide network with capacity for 2 million subscribers by the end of this year, the official with EVN's headquarters in Hanoi told Dow Jones Newswires.
"That amount ($200 million) is only for our initial investments in equipment, and we will raise more funds later when our operations expand," the official, who did not want to be named, said. "We expect our network to grow strongly because we already have a solid presence across the country, and VP Telecom is targeting a revenue of VND1.1 trillion this year, the first year of its operation," he noted.
EVN has a monopoly on the country's power distribution, and can easily help VP Telecom install many signal stations in the country at low costs. To help raise more capital to support VP Telecom's expansion, EVN is also preparing to establish a new shareholding company whose shares will be offered to the public.
"Because EVN has already embraced numerous big energy development projects, it doesn't have enough cash for this new mobile service, therefore setting up a new joint stock company is necessary for us," he said. The official didn't give a date for the formation of the new joint stock company, but adding that "we are moving fast in this direction." The number of mobile users in Vietnam is growing quickly and will reach 7.3 million by the end of this year, up from 6 million currently, with 97% of them subscribers of four state-owned firms, government figures show.
Vietnam's Ministry of Post and Telematics has so far issued six licenses to mobile phone operators, including Vinaphone, MobiFone, Viettel, S-Phone, VP Telecom and Hanoi Telecom, of which the first three operators are using global system for mobile communication, or GSM, technology and the remainder using code division multiple access, or CDMA, technology. S-Phone and Hanoi Telecom are joint venture companies with foreign investors, while the other four are state-owned.
A Hanoi-based telecom analyst said VP Telecom and other state-owned firms are trying to grab chunks of the mobile market as quickly as possible because of fears of increased competition once the market is thrown open to foreign investors as part of Vietnam's plans to join the World Trade Organization. Many WTO members are demanding Vietnam open its telecom market before the country becomes a new member by the end of this year.
Dow Jones - May 19, 2005
Ericsson, Viettel team to expand GSM network in Vietnam
MANHASSET — Ericsson has signed a multi-year frame agreement with mobile operator Viettel to expand that company's GSM/GPRS network in Vietnam. Under the agreement, Ericsson will provide Viettel with core and network rollout and support services. The network will have EDGE capability, paving the way for a future migration to 3G.
"The agreement will further strengthen Ericsson's position as Viettel's leading GSM system supplier," said Staffan Holmer, head of sales for region Asia Pacific at Ericsson, in a statement. "We will increase our market share in the dynamic and fast-growing Vietnamese mobile market, at the same time as our proven GSM technology continues to gain market shares throughout the region, based on a continued demand for both coverage and capacity".
Ericsson's technology will enable Viettel, currently the fastest growing mobile operator in Vietnam, to continue its rapid nationwide network rollout, as well as to provide advanced voice and high speed data services to a growing number of mobile phone users in the country.
Eetimes.com - May 18, 2005
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