Singapore Telecommunications eyes Vietnam investment

SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. said Thursday it wants to invest in Vietnam's telecom sector. "Vietnam is in our area of interest,'' Chua Sock Koong, SingTel's deputy CEO, told a news conference.

The Hanoi government has been considering liberalizing the country's telecommunications sector for some time but no decisions have been made.

"The timing (of the liberalization) is entirely up to the Vietnamese government,'' said Chua, who is due to take over from Lee Hsien Yang as chief executive in April.

She also reiterated that SingTel would like to increase its 30.5 percent stake in India's Bharti Airtel Ltd. if U.K. telecommunications company Vodafone Group PLC sells its 10 percent holding in the Indian phone operator.

"Our objective is to increase our stakes in associates ... and Bharti is one of them. But it's not clear if Vodafone will sell its stake,'' Chua said.

Vodafone would have to offload its Bharti assets if it is successful in its bid for India's fourth-largest operator, Hutchison Essar Ltd.

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