Local telecom firm SaigonTel has announced that it will buy nearly 36 million shares, or a 30 percent stake in Saigon Postel, the operator of mobile phone network S-Fone.

The move will make SaigonTel the largest shareholder in Saigon Postel, which means it can join the management boards of S-Fone and Saigon Postel's other business projects.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, S-Fone had more than 1.8 million active subscribers as of the end of 2010.

The network was formed by Korea's SK Telecom and Saigon Postel in 2001 under a "business cooperation contract." Saigon Postel announced plans to sell shares in the venture in November last year, after the Korean partner divested its share.

SaigonTel, who bought the stake, is going through a restructuring process itself. The company plans to delist its shares on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.