Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) is planning to establish a joint-venture (JV) in Vietnam with Viettel Corporation, the largest telecoms carrier in the market, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

CHT has been negotiating the deal with Viettel for a while and will soon submit a proposal to its board of directors for discussion and approval, the sources indicated. CHT's stake in the JV, due to Vietnam's regulations, will be below 50%, the sources noted.

CHT plans to initially provide IDC (Internet data center) services in the Vietnam market, with Taiwan-based enterprises operating the market to be the main clientele, the sources pointed out. Investment by Taiwan-based companies in Vietnam is growing fast affording a great deal of business opportunities for CHT, the sources explained.

While CHT has set up liaison offices in Thailand, Vietnam and China, this is the first time that CHT has planned to establish business operations in an overseas market on a JV basis, the sources indicated.