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| Cập nhật ngày: 05/03/2009, 16:43 GMT+7. |
France Telecom and Vodafone tipped as frontrunners for 15% stake
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A 15% strategic stake in
MobiFone, Vietnam's second largest mobile operator, will likely fall
into the hands of France Telecom or Vodafone, local industry
professionals told mergermarket. Two private equity bankers and a
lawyer in Vietnam concurred that Singtel is likely to be outbid by
sector heavyweights, France Telecom and Vodafone. MobiFone,
the state-owned mobile operator, with an estimated market cap of US
dollars 2bn, is set to list in April this year, said an insider at
parent company Vietnam Posts & Telecommunications [VNPT]. MobiFone
had 9.7 trillion dong (US$607 million) in revenues for 2006.
MobiFone would be interested in cooperating with SingTel, but SingTel
is already in a strategic partnership with rival Viettel, the insider
said, when asked. MobiFone has been approached by around five foreign
mobile operators, the insider confirmed. The insider declined to
comment further on the stake sale. MobiFone is 100% owned by
the Vietnamese government. Telecoms giants including SingTel, France
Telecom, Vodafone, BT and Telenor are reportedly competing for the
strategic stake. The Vietnamese media reported that MobiFone
would sell a 10-15% stake to a foreign strategic partner. Subsequent
wire reports in 2008 cited France Telecom's CEO Didier Lombard as
saying the group would be keen to acquire as large a stake as possible
in MobiFone. The first PE source argued that the core
advantages of Singapore-headquartered Singtel, Southeast Asia's largest
telco, were limited to technology and management value-add. Another PE
source seconded this, and noted that Singtel, while Southeast Asia's
largest telco, is a "regional heavyweight" compared to global
heavyweights Vodafone and France Telecom. Singtel has a market cap of
SGD 39.7bn (US$26bn). However, the two European telecoms majors are
"already active" in Vietnam, he noted. SingTel's spokesperson
declined to comment on its bidding status, but said the group is still
on the lookout for opportunities across Asia. Given the financial
turmoil, it would be more cautious in making acquisitions, she added.
In 2000, SingTel signed an agreement to operate a fibre link cable with
VNPT. Eric Le Dreau, Managing Partner of the Vietnamese law
firm Indochina Legal who has advised on landmark M&A deals, said
France Telecom had an advantage over the rest because the French mobile
operator has demonstrated a long standing commitment to Vietnam.
In 2007, France Telecom signed a cooperation agreement with VNPT to
facilitate technical and commercial partnerships between the two.
"France Telecom invested in Vietnam for a long time under that
inconvenient BCC vehicle. They would expect that this commitment to
[FDI] in Vietnam pays off," Le Dreau argued. In Vietnam,
foreign ownership of telecoms companies is capped at 49%. One mode of
direct investment is through a business cooperation contract (BCC), a
partnership signed by two or more parties for one or more business
operations. Pricing indications for the stake sale and IPO
have not been publicised, the first banker suggested the price would
depend on the floated share price and the size of MobiFone's registered
capital. Vietnam's prime minister will have the final say on
the bidding, the first PE source said, and the selected partner is
likely be announced after the IPO. However, France Telecom and fellow
bidders were still lobbying hard for the strategic partner to be
selected prior to the IPO, Le Dreau noted. This equitisation
is the first step in the restructuring of Vietnam's telecommunications
industry, the first PE source noted. MobiFone's debut will be viewed as
a precursor to future telco listings with fellow state-run rivals
Viettel and VinaFone widely tipped to follow suit, the first PE source
noted. "In the current market, it may be wise for VNPT to
proceed in this manner," the same source said, with a nod to the
successful equitisation of Bao Minh, an insurance firm listed in 2007.
In 2007, Vietnam had 24 million mobile subscribers, or a 30%
penetration rate, against 56% in the Philippines, 71% in Thailand, 86%
in Malaysia and 116% in Singapore, according to market research by
ChinaCCM.com.
Source: Intellasia
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