The Vietnamese government's plan for an IPO of state-owned mobile operator MobiFone has attracted the interest of international investors including Telenor.
Telenor has expressed an interest in taking a controlling stake in MobiFone and using it to launch its own services in the market, VietNamNet Bridgereported.
Comvik International Vietnam, a former partner to MobiFone, has also expressed an interest in investing in the company once it is made public.
An earlier, abandoned plan by MobiFone to conduct an IPO in 2006 had also attracted the interest of foreign telcos including SingTel, T-Mobile, France Telecom Orange and Vodafone. Some of these operators - including France Telecom - are still interested, the report adds.
A MobiFone director told the paper that the company is in negotiations with prospective foreign partners now.
He added that the criteria the company will use to select a partner will include financial capacity, technology, skill and governance experience.
MobiFone was split off from fellow state-owned operator VNPT in June and directed to submit an IPO plan by the end of the year. The company is the second largest mobile operator in Vietnam with a 21.4% share, and has an estimated value of $3.4 billion.