Yahoo to incorporate business in Vietnam
By Hien Nguyen - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – The Hanoi representative office of Yahoo Southeast Asia Pte has announced it will be closed on February 20 this year in preparation for incorporation of a business in Vietnam.
Nguyen Minh Tri, general director of Yahoo Vietnam, a unit of Yahoo Southeast Asia, told the Daily on the phone on Monday that the incorporation plan was aimed at establishing a stronger presence in the Vietnamese market.
“The closure of Yahoo Southeast Asia’s representative office in Hanoi will pave the way for establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in Vietnam,” he said. Yahoo Southeast Asia also has a representative office in HCMC.
According to Tri, Yahoo mentioned this local incorporation plan in November last year. A senior official from Yahoo met the Ministry of Information and Communication to present the company’s intention.
Under Yahoo’s long-term plan, the company will implement many investment projects in Vietnam through the forthcoming subsidiary, and cooperate with some Vietnamese partners to establish a joint venture to localize its digital content for Vietnamese Internet users.
In January this year, Yahoo Vietnam announced to shut down its Vietnamese music website due to issues over music copyright, local partner selection and digital content.
In 2006, Yahoo launched the Vietnamese version of Yahoo Messenger and a Vietnamese-language website at yahoo.com.vn to cater to the needs of the Internet-savvy population of 15-16 million people. It has various services with domain .vn, including email, blog, chat and online music.
The Vietnam Game and Digital Content Business Club, or VGB, under the Vietnam Software Association wrote to the Ministry of Information and Communication last year accusing Yahoo Vietnam of lacking licenses for website establishment, online service provider (OSP) and business operation.
Meanwhile, the Recording Industry Association of Vietnam (RIAV) filed a copyright violation lawsuit against FPT Online which is Yahoo’s music supplier.