Hanoi (VNA) - Telecom operator VietnamPosts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) expects to hold its initial publicoffering (IPO) in 2019, according to the group’s chairman Tran Manh Hung.
“There is still a lot of work to bedone for the group’s IPO, such as selecting advisors, valuating the firm and seekinga strategic partner,” Hung told Dau tu (Investment) newspaper.
“The selection of advisors alone is acomplicated process, as each component of the IPO plan will require a specificadvisor to work on it. The VNPT will look for cooperation from foreign,reputable IPO advisors.”
He added that “the company will try tofinalise its IPO portfolio and complete all the required procedures in 2018,then do the IPO in 2019”, as there were still problems with the firm’s IPO planthat required the Government to make the final decisions.
The preparation of the IPO will becarried out after the restructuring plan, which has been submitted to theMinistry of Information and Communications (MIC) and the Prime Minister, isapproved, he said.
To complete the restructuring plan, theVNPT has founded a board, which specialises in the firm’s equitisation process,and asked its member companies to compile corporate reports.
The VNPT has completely restructuredits three corporations, which are telecommunication services provider VNPTVinaPhone, network operator VNPT Net and value-added services provider VNPTMedia.
The VNPT has also proposed that the MICestablish a new corporation that would focus on technology development andproduce both software and hardware components. The establishment of thefourth corporation under the management of VNPT has got the green light fromthe MIC.
After two years of restructuring, theinformation-technology sector of VNPT says it has made rapid and strongdevelopment in different fields.
The business unit has been able todevelop and provide software applications for the Government, its agencies andministries; smart city applications for provinces and cities; and products forother sectors, such as healthcare and education.
As part of the restructuring plan, theVNPT also wanted to hold 20 percent in MobiFone to make up for the reduction ofits charter capital when the latter split away in August 2014.
Two years later, the VNPT proposed thatthe Government allow it to spend parts of the income from the equitisation ofMobiFone on the firm’s business activities.
Responding to the company’s request,the Prime Minister has assigned the MIC to develop the equitisation plan forMobiFone and submit that plan to the Government for review.-VNA