MobiFone leader unveils telecom’s equitisation plan

Could you us an overview of MobiFone’s government-approved restructuring plan?

Under the prime minister’s guidance we plan to complete and submit the company’s equitisation plan within this year. In the recent past the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) decided to split MobiFone from state-owned VNPT to fall under the MIC’s management to hasten the process.

The MIC has urged MobiFone to quickly complete its restructuring plan and submit it within the third quarter this year to send to the prime minister for the go-ahead. MobiFone expects to complete its shakeup by the end of next year.

What are the company’s major criteria in terms of sourcing partners?

Equitising could motivate growth and generate higher returns to the state, the company, and shareholders as well.

Financial capacity, technology, skills and management expertise continue to be main criteria for us in sourcing partners.

Besides, the experience we gained during the time working with Comvik via a business co-operation contract was a useful lesson for us in seeking foreign partners now.

Will equitisation impact the company’s brand building or operations in the coming period?

MobiFone was first formed two decades ago, and its selection of in-demand products and services have created the company’s success. But back then competition wasn’t as fierce as it is now.

Things are different now. We are pitted against many strong newcomers to the market and our customers’ demands have changed.

We are striving to constantly improve our services to ensure customer satisfaction. Equitisation is expected to involve greater development opportunities for our company.

What are the company’s future investment priorities?

That is infrastructure and services. Our current infrastructure is provided by VNPT, but in the coming time bandwidth promotion will lead to a huge demand for transmission, so we need to invest in our own infrastructure to cut down on costs and boost our operational efficiency.

What new areas will be central to your business?

The first is cloud computing, the second will be ‘big data’, and the third are services tailored for mobile devices. That is an indispensable trend worldwide and also in Vietnam.