Vietnam: Foreign investors sniff postal sector opportunity
Foreign companies are lining up as Viet Nam opens its post and telecommunications industry, which is expected to be one of the most lucrative sectors in the country.
Last June, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung issued a new directive easing the way for more foreign investment.
The Ministry of Post and Telematics is required to come up with a plan to open up the domestic post and telecommunications market for foreign companies in line with Viet Nam’s World Trade Organisation commitments.
In the postal service field, foreign companies will be allowed to enter into a joint venture with a Vietnamese post partner and their capital contributions to these projects must be less than 51 per cent.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Lai said that the telecommunications ministry is drafting a decree with specific regulations for foreign investors.
The new decree includes measures aimed at removing impediments to investment activities in the posts and telecommunications field. The draft may be submitted to the government by year’s end.
Pham Hong Hai, director of the Telecommunications Department, predicted that foreign investors will be most interested in partnerships involving mobile services and renting of network infrastructures.
