Viettel has recorded a 91 per cent return on its overseas investments. — Photo courtesy of Viettel

HÀ NỘI — While the global telecommunications industry is entering a period of slower growth under pressure from inflation, rising investment costs and fierce competition, Viettel has continued to post strong results overseas, standing out as a rare case from a developing economy.

After more than a decade of expansion driven by mobile data, global telecoms are now widely seen as entering a 'maturity phase'. According to GSMA and international consultancies, industry revenue growth has slowed to low single digits, with many developed markets stagnating. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March 2025, PwC forecast global telecom revenue growth of just 2.9 per cent per year.

Against this backdrop, many major telecom groups have scaled back international operations to protect margins. Even in developing markets, once viewed as new growth engines, competition has intensified and profitability has come under pressure.

Viettel, however, has moved in the opposite direction.

At its 2025 year-end review, the Vietnamese telecom and technology group reported overseas revenue growth of 23.9 per cent, around seven times the global industry average. Total revenue from international markets reached US$3.34 billion, marking the ninth consecutive year of double-digit growth abroad.

The group’s overseas scale has also expanded steadily. Viettel now serves 56 million international mobile subscribers, exceeding its domestic subscriber base. Of the 10 countries where it has invested, Viettel holds the leading market position in seven: Unitel (Laos), Metfone (Cambodia), Mytel (Myanmar), Telemor (Timor-Leste), Lumitel (Burundi), Natcom (Haiti) and Movitel (Mozambique).

Financial returns have improved alongside growth. In 2025, cash flows transferred back to Việt Nam from overseas operations reached $385.5 million, equivalent to 120 per cent of the annual plan.

By the end of the year, Viettel’s overseas investment payback ratio had reached 91 per cent, ahead of schedule. In Peru, one of its most challenging markets, Viettel’s local brand Bitel rose to second place earlier than targeted, despite competition from global telecom giants.

Viettel’s performance reflects a long-term approach to global expansion. Rather than focusing on saturated markets, the group has prioritised developing economies with strong demand for connectivity, combining commercial goals with broader social impact.

Its strategy of localisation, long-term presence and expansion into digital services such as e-payments, e-government and online education has helped strengthen its position across diverse markets.

As global telecoms search for new growth models, Viettel’s experience highlights how sustained investment in challenging markets can deliver both business results and lasting value.

At a recent year-end military and business review, Chairman and CEO Major General Tào Đức Thắng said 2026 would mark a shift from planning to implementation as Việt Nam enters what he described as a new phase of national development.

“With our goal of becoming a global technology group by 2030 now clearly defined, Viettel will focus on action in 2026 – being more proactive, faster, bolder and more effective,” Thắng said, adding that effectiveness must be reflected in benefits for customers, society and the country.

As the global telecom industry searches for new growth models, Viettel’s long-term investments in challenging markets and its alignment of business interests with local development are shaping a distinct path – one that is also helping position Vietnamese enterprises more visibly on the global economic map. — VNS