VNPT and BIDV start alliance

Under the deal signed Thursday in Hanoi, the Vietnam Post and Telecom Group (VNPT) and Bank for Development of Vietnam (BIDV) will work together as strategic partners, each reserving a major chunk of shares for the other to purchase on a mutual basis.
The two giant state corporations will utilize services including money transfers through their network of post agents, office transactions, automatic teller machines (ATMs), phone banking and internet banking.

The leading telecoms and banking providers plan to establish fund managers in various fields including energy, telecoms, property and mining.
They will also assist each other in training staff, according to the agreement.
Both sides will act as strategic founding members of fund management companies.
A BIDV representative said the two parties had also discussed either setting up or controlling a major portion of stakes in companies involved in the country’s forthcoming key mega projects.
These comprise the express way connecting the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay, the Vietnam-Laos Hydropower plant, Vietnam – Cambodia Hydropower plant, and a bank for trade, industry and services of Vietnam.

BIDV and VNPT have long established a close relationship as the bank had used VNPT-sourced services in return for short, medium and long term credit and syndicated loans for telecom projects.
The new formal strategic cooperation with a leading bank will enable VNPT to expand services and develop financial operations with the telecom business.

VNPT, last year, became a member of the ASEAN Telecom Holding Company (ATH/ACASIA), one of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s leading primary network service providers, made up of the six leading telecom providers in the region, namely CAT, Indosat, JTB, PLDT, Singtel and Telekom Malaysia.

Source: Thanh Nien