Hanoi-based information technology company FPT has denied an online report claiming it is in merger talks with Apple, while the U.S. tech behemoth made no comment on the information.

No talks had taken place between the Vietnamese firm, a market leader in the software outsourcing and telecommunications sectors, and the maker of iPhone smartphones, a company representative told reporters on Friday.

The denial came one day after Tech Insider, a website that provides insight into U.S. stocks and investments, reported that Apple has announced that it is acquiring FPT.

The reported move by Apple is seen by Tech Insider as “an effort to cease the third world market as Vietnam is regarded as a growth hungry market with a strong potential user base for the technology sector,” according to its Thursday report.

The website also said the move is intended to help the U.S. hi-tech titan “beat Samsung sales in the region because Apple devices are considered as a status symbol here and people will rush to buy Apple products.”

Tech Insider quoted Bloomberg’s Haslinda Amin as saying in a televised program that FPT is “a trusted reseller in Vietnam and Apple has now officially partnered with it in the country to boost its sales.”

The move is in alignment with Apple’s new partnership and strategies in Southeast Asia and epically Vietnam, according to the Bloomberg correspondent.

But Nguyen The Phuong, deputy general director of finance at FPT, dismissed the report.

While admitting that FPT is a long-term partner of Apple in Vietnam, Phuong asserted that the two parties “have never been in any talks about Apple acquiring FPT.”

FPT is the premium reseller of Apple in Vietnam, authorized to distribute many flagship products, from iPods to iPhones.

In 2012 the Vietnamese firm inaugurated its F.Studio stores, replicas of Apple Stores in developed countries, whose employees are trained by Apple experts.

Apple products are common in Vietnam and are particularly favored by young consumers. iPhone sales in the Southeast Asian country rose more than threefold in the first half of the 2014 fiscal year, according to newswire VnExpress.

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