Second placed Russian mobile operator VimpelCom said Tuesday that it has successfully set up its Vietnamese joint venture first announced last year.

Under an agreement with local state run player Global Telecommunications Corporation and one of its subsidiaries, VimpelCom will set up GTEL-Mobile.

The Russian firm will take 40 per cent of the new company for an equity investment of $267m, while GTEL and GTEL TSC will have equity interests of 51 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

The company will also receive a GSM licence and associated frequencies.

Alexander Izosimov, CEO of VimpelCom said, “With a population of 86 million and a fast growing economy, the Vietnamese market holds great promise for VimpelCom and we believe the GTEL-Mobile growth dynamics make it an ideal place for us to begin building our international growth platform”.

Last year, VimpelCom said it would invest up to $1bn over the next several years in the development of a GSM mobile network and provide technical and operational expertise to the joint venture.