NTT Docomo, the largest mobile phone operator in Japan,  has acquired a 25% stake in Vietnam's largest telecom service provider VMG Media 

The acquisition, valued at JP¥1.4b (US$18m), marks NTT Docomo's first foray into the Vietnamese market.

NTT Docomo's parent company, NTT, already offers data center and collocation services in Vietnam and is likely to be involved with setting up facilities to support NTT Docomo's ventures into the country.

VMG Media, a telecommunications company established in 2006, currently controls a quarter of the mobile phone service market in Vietnam, or roughly 40m subscriptions out of a nearly 160m subscriber market. 

Through the deal, NTT Docomo joins Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) as a stakeholder in VMG. VNPT is a government-owned firm that holds a 29% stake in VMG Media;through VMG and other holdings.

NTT Docomo plans to use the stake as a bridge into Vietnam to offer overseas content distribution and other value-added services.