Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom to enter Cambodia

TAIPEI, June 12 (Reuters) - Chunghwa Telecom (2412.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (CHT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Taiwan's largest telecommunications operator, said on Thursday it expected to launch telecom services in Cambodia, as part of a plan to expand overseas.

The company will collaborate with Vietnam's military-run operator Viettel, which it had set up a $30 million joint venture with in May, said a Chunghwa Telecom spokeswoman.

The firm declined to give a specific timeline for when the services would be launched or any investment figures.

Chunghwa Telecom had said it started investments in Vietnam and Thailand and planned to invest in every Southeast Asian country besides Myanmar.

Viettel, fully owned by the Vietnam military, has become a dominant telecoms operator in Vietnam, taking up about a third of the mobile phone market.

In 2006, it became Vietnam's first telecoms firm to invest abroad when it started Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services in Cambodia, and later expanded into mobile phone, fixed-line and Internet services.

Viettel competes with Vinaphone and MobiFone, both mobile phone providers owned by state-run Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications (VNPT).

On Thursday, shares of Chunghwa Telecom fell 2.48 percent, outperforming the benchmark TAIEX's 3.39 percent drop.

Chunghwa Telecom takes up about a 39 percent share of Taiwan's mobile telecoms market, and it competes with smaller local rivals Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (4904.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Taiwan Mobile Co (3045.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). ($1=T$30.5) (Reporting by Sheena Lee; Editing by Ben Tan)