MOSCOW, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Russia telecom VimpelCom has acquired a 60-percent stake in Tacom, a major wireless phone operator in Tajikistan, and may move to eventual complete ownership.

VimpelCom announced in Moscow Thursday that it had also entered into an agreement with the remaining shareholders of Tacom on options that could in the future allow VimpelCom to take outright ownership.

"We are pleased that we are starting operations in Tajikistan," said VimpelCom CEO Alexander Izosimov. "We will develop and integrate Tacom into the Beeline network and use our unified business approach. Given the latest economic performance of the country and penetration rate of only four percent we see good growth opportunities in Tajikistan."

The 60-percent stake cost VimpelCom $12 million and gives it control over a company that holds national licenses for various wireless technologies in a country of 7 million with one of the strongest economies in the Commonwealth of Independent States.