The Prime Minister praised Viettel Group as having created a new growth model for Việt Nam at a ceremony late last week to mark the telecom group’s 10 years of investment abroad. — Photo ictnews.vn

HÀ NỘI – The Prime Minister praised Viettel Group as having created a new growth model for Việt Nam at a ceremony late last week to mark the telecom group’s 10 years of investment abroad. 

Nguyễn Xuân Phúc noted that Viettel has grown into the largest telecom and IT group in Việt Nam and also the first Vietnamese company to enjoy successful investment abroad on a large scale thanks to its focus on products and services with high added value instead of exploiting natural resources or a low-cost workforce. 

He said the group’s success has reinforced international community and partners’ trust while inspiring other Vietnamese firms to invest abroad, adding that Viettel’s projects have also helped strengthen the friendship and co-operation between Việt Nam and host countries. 

He urged the firm to promote the startup spirit in the two promising sectors of telecommunication and information and technology. PM Phúc expressed hope that in the next 10 years, Viettel will double and even triple its overseas market, becoming a global enterprise listed among the top 20 telecommunication firms in the world. 

During the ceremony, Viettel also announced it has received its 10th investment licence abroad for a joint venture in Myanmar. With the joint venture, the group has expanded its coverage to 11 countries with a total population of 320 million. Tanzania and Burundi are among its most profitable markets. 

Viettel is running a total 360,000km of optical cable in nine countries, equivalent to nine rounds around the earth. In 2016, nine companies run by Viettel abroad had a total value of US$4.5-5 billion.

This year, the group’s overseas revenue is likely to reach $1.4 billion, raising its total overseas earnings, so far, to $6.5 billion with average growth of 25 per cent annually. 

Viettel is currently serving 100 million customers, including 35 million abroad, 12 times higher than that in its first year of investment abroad. It is now ranked among the world’s top 30 telecoms companies in terms of number of customers. 

Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, general director of Viettel, revealed that the firm would continue investing in the infrastructure system to provide 4G services widely at a reasonable cost while continue expanding its investment in production. Viettel aims to become one of the top 20 telecoms enterprises in the world in the future, he said. — VNS