Saigon Postel still holds S-Fone’s major shares

S-Telecom on January 12 confirmed that the Vietnamese partner in the S-Fone mobile network – Saigon Postel – has its fate in its own hands.

South Korean partner may split from S-Fone

This statement was released as speculation grew about the difficulties facing the network following the South Korean partner – SK Telecom – withdrawing its capital.

S-Telecom confirmed that that on November 22, 2009, SK Telecom and Saigon Postel signed an agreement to change the form of cooperation from a Business Cooperation Contract (BCC) to a joint venture. The two sides are quickly fulfilling formalities and documents to submit to government agencies in early this year.

According to the BCC, Saigon Postel will continue operating the S-Fone network during the time of transformation from BCC to joint venture. When the change finalizes, Saigon Postel will hold the major capital.

“Therefore, we confirm that the investment in the S-Fone project at present and in the future is decided by the Vietnamese side, Saigon Postel,” S-Telecom’s announcement said.

S-Telecom said that it is SK Telecom’s own affair to close down its offices in Hanoi and decide to no longer invest in S-Fone.

In terms of subscribers, S-Telecom confirmed that S-Fone will still keeps stable operations. The network recently expanded its 3G-EVDO network to 14 provinces.

“Once again, we confirm that whatever the cooperation between Saigon Postel and SK Telecom is, we will continue investing in and developing the S-Fone network based on technology CDMA 2000-1x,” S-Telecom’s announcement said.

An official of the Ministry of Information and Communication told VNExpress on January 12 that he hadn’t received any document mentioning SK Telecom’s withdrawal of its capital out of Vietnam. He said that the Ministry only intervenes when the change affects the interests of customers.

Tags: Sfone, Vietnam Telecom