HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc asked the Việt Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group to plan for equitisation over the next five years, during a working session with the company in Hà Nội on Thursday.

The State-run firm, also known as VNPT, has been reorganised following a Goverment decision to operate more efficiently and better serve national goals in 2014.

The company must speed up restructuring to lead the domestic telecommunications market, Phúc said.

VNPT Chairman Trần Mạnh Hùng asked the PM to allow the company to hold a 20 per cent stake in MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation, which is managed by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), to support restructuring.

Hùng also asked the Government to let VNPT use some money, which will be raised from share sales of MobiFone in the future, to supplement capital for VNPT operations.

MobiFone was renamed MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation from Việt Nam Mobile Telecom Services Company in 2014, after it detached from VNPT and was placed under the supervision of the ministry the same year.

The ministry established a steering committee for the equitisation of MobiFone in 2014, but little progress has been reported. On Thursday, PM Phúc said the Government will accelerate this process.

Minister of Finance Trần Văn Hiếu told MIC-run website ictnews.vn that the authorities will consider how much money to compensate VNPT for transferring several units to ministries and sectors while it restructures.

Việt Nam Post, along with Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology, and two information technology secondary schools were among the transferred units.

VNPT Chairman Trần Mạnh Hùng said VNPT has rationalised its organisational structure and production and business activities.

The firm cut the ratio of managers from 20 per cent to 10 per cent of its human resources, while increasing the number of business and sales staff members from 4,000 to 15,000.

It withdrew capital from 15 non-core lines of business, gaining more than VNĐ1 trillion (US$44.4 million) from the divestments. In book values, the withdrawn amount accounted for some 30 per cent of all portfolios slated for divestments.

Business results clearly improved after restructuring, Hùng said.

The company obtained VNĐ61.35 trillion in revenues in the first half of this year, reaching nearly half of its annual target. It earned VNĐ2.20 trillion in profits in the period, a year-on-year increase of 23.5 per cent.

It is expected to make a total profit of about VNĐ24.20 trillion over the next five years, doubling the amount attained over the last five years.

Phúc said VNPT must develop its mobile network in line with international standards and contribute to national e-government construction. It must also expand coverage in remote areas, and develop more made-in-Việt Nam telecom products.

VNPT owns the largest telecommunications infrastructure in Việt Nam, managing Vinasat-1 and Vinasat-2 satellites.

Satellite service

On Thursday, VNPT launched VinaPhone-S, a satellite mobile service covering the entire Vietnamese territory and about two-thirds of the globe.

With VinaPhone-S, customers using post-paid sim cards can easily use voice and message services, as well as satellite navigation to ensure communication anywhere, without being dependent on telecoms infrastructure, weather and geography.

For State agencies, VinaPhone-S will become an effective solution for forest rangers, fisheries resources surveillance and coast guards and assist people living in remote areas.

For production and business activities, VinaPhone-S will help ensure smooth communications for mining, fisheries, international transportation, construction, and tourism.

This is the first satellite service provided by a Vietnamese operator. — VNS