Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications has yet to consider and provide a decision on the merger of two state-owned mobile phone operators in the country, local newspaper Tuoi Tre reports.

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) is planning to merge two of its subsidiaries, Vinaphone and Mobifone, as part of a restructuring process. This is said to follow an earlier ruling that an investor with more than a 20 percent stake of one operator cannot hold more than 20 percent of another, meaning that VNPT has either to combine the businesses, or sell one.

The two businesses are also both said to be too lucrative for VNPT to consider a disposal.

The combined business will also operate under a new brand, Tuoi Tre reports, although this has not been unveiled yet. It was noted that each business has its own strengths, with Vinaphone offering broad coverage and a robust infrastructure, and Mobifone being well-run.

The combination of Vinaphone and Mobifone would have around 74.5 million subscribers, giving it market share of around 54 percent, according to figures from Wireless Intelligence. It would also dwarf nearest rival Viettel Telecom, which has 51 million subscribers.

But this has promoted concern about the effect of a merger on competition, with the danger that the country will become a duopoly controlled by Vinaphone/Mobifone and Viettel. Between them, these parties control more than 90 percent of the market.