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Tag: Viettel

  • First 5G network broadcasts in Vietnam

    First 5G network broadcasts in Vietnam

    Telecom giant Viettel broadcast its first 5G network Saturday from its network of 5G base stations in Ho Chi Minh City.

    “The official broadcast of 5G in Ho Chi Minh City is an important milestone in Viettel’s strategy to make Vietnam one of the first countries in the world to commercialize 5G services,” Viettel deputy director Tao Duc Thang said in a statement.

    The 10 stations will be used by Viettel, the nation’s largest telecom firm, to comprehensively check and assess its 5G service before launching it commercially next year.

    Military-run Viettel installed the first 5G station in Hanoi early this year and made the first 5G phone call in May. It was the first firm in the country to receive permission to trial 5G services in January, followed by MobiFone.

    Last November, Information and Communication Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said at a conference that Vietnam should test 5G in 2019 and ensure nationwide coverage by 2020.

    “Vietnam should be one of the first countries to launch the network, at least in Hanoi and HCMC,” he had said. The country had been one of the last in Southeast Asia to roll out 4G services.

    5G is said to offer speeds 100 times faster than 4G, primarily used for smartphones and other similar devices. 5G is also expected to support new applications like remote medical procedures and autonomous driving.

  • Viettel completes Vietnam’s first 5G call

    Viettel completes Vietnam’s first 5G call

    Vietnamese military-run operator Viettel has completed the nation’s first 5G call in collaboration with Ericsson.

    During the trial, conducted as part of Viettel’s ongoing 5G technical testing program, the companies achieved a downlink speed of 1.5Gbps to 1.7Gbps.

    The Vietnamese government has been pushing for Vietnam to become one of the world’s early 5G adopters to help ensure the nation is at the forefront of the Industry 4.0 revolution.

    As part of these efforts, the government aims to ensure Viettel and other providers cover 5G in all of Vietnam’s high-tech zones, national innovation centers and smart factory areas by 2020.

    Viettel commenced deployment of Vietnam’s first 5G base stations in April as part of these trial efforts.

    The operator plans to test 70 5G base stations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in June in preparation for larger-scale deployment.

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  • Vietnam telcos ready to pilot mobile money

    Vietnam telcos ready to pilot mobile money

    Vietnamese operators MobiFone, VNPT and Viettel have all submitted proposals to participate in pilot mobile money services.

    Vietnam’s prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has directed the telecommunications ministry and the State Bank of Vietnam to develop a project that will allow operators to pilot mobile money services not linked to customers’ bank accounts.

    The three operators have submitted applications to launch mobile money services that will allow customers to transfer money using mobile phones, including Vietnam’s unbanked population.

    According to the report, the operators believe they have the capital, infrastructure and user base necessary to launch mobile money services and contribute to the development of non-cash payment in Vietnam.

    The market could represent a promising avenue for expansion for the operators – Vietnam’s fintech market is set to reach $8 billion in 2020, with digital payment solutions accounting for around 89% of the market. Meanwhile only around 40% of the population have bank accounts, but mobile penetration is well above 100%.

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  • Viettel deploys Vietnam’s first 5G base stations

    Viettel deploys Vietnam’s first 5G base stations

    Vietnamese military-run operator Viettel has installed Vietnam’s first 5G base stations in Hanoi ahead of planned 5G trials.

    The operator has deployed three test 5G base stations at various offices, and expects to switch them on for trials in early May.

    Viettel plans to test 70 5G base stations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in June in preparation for a large-scale deployment, the report states.

    Viettel plans to be one of the early adopters of 5G, targeting a commercial launch in 2020. Viettel is taking the lead in the deployment of the technology in the market.

    At the recent ASEAN Conference on 5G in Vietnam, minister of information and communications Nguyen Manh Hung said 5G represents an opportunity for Vietnam to change its global rankings by stimulating growth in the digital economy.

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  • Unitel introduces eSIMs to Laos market

    Unitel introduces eSIMs to Laos market

    Vietnamese military-owned operator Viettel has announced that its subsidiary in Laos Unitel has become the first mobile operator in the market to launch eSIM technology.

    The Unitel eSIM service was introduced at the beginning of March, and Unitel is aiming to encourage at least 10,000 customers to exchange their physical SIMs for eSIMs by the end of 2020.

    With the launch, Laos became the seventh of the 10 ASEAN member states to introduce eSIM technology.

    It is also the fourth market in Southeast Asia that Viettel has introduced eSIMs to. The company and its subsidiaries were the first mobile operators to offer the technology in Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia.

    Meanwhile another Viettel mobile brand in Laos, Metfone, has become the first operator in the market to launch mobile credit top ups using QR code scanning rather than scratch cards.

    Viettel deputy general director Tao Duc Thang said the introduction of eSIM technology marks the beginning stages of Viettel’s goal of digitally transforming the global telecommunications landscape, and becoming a pioneer in IoT technologies.

    “Viettel has well-prepared platforms and infrastructure and has made digital transformations in its fields such as telecommunications and information technology,” he said.

    “This includes application of the latest technologies in the world for a more convenient life.”

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  • Viettel sole Vietnamese brand in global 500 listing

    Viettel sole Vietnamese brand in global 500 listing

    Military-run telecom giant Viettel is the only Vietnamese firm in the list of 500 most valuable brands in the world. Valued at $4.32 billion, Viettel’s brand was ranked 478th on the list of 500 most valuable brands in the world for 2019, Brand Finance, a leading global brand valuation consultant, announced at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

    This is the first time a Vietnamese brand has been named in this list.

    Accordingly, Viettel’s brand value in 2019 has increased 35.8 percent year over 2018. The telecom giant’s high brand valuation was largely due to its presence and contribution in 10 foreign markets, suggesting the company was internationally competitive.

    2018 was a successful year for Viettel in  foreign telecommunication sectors, with service revenue growing by 20 percent, mobile subscribers base growing by 70 percent and net cash flow from international operations by $240 million, 3 percent higher compared to 2017.

    Brand Finance’s Global 500 list ranks the most valuable brands in the world covering all business fields including telecommunications, technology, automotive, oil and gas. Some big names in the list include Amazon, Apple, Google, Mercedes-Benz, Shell and Telstra.

    “Every year Brand Finance conducts an assessment of about 5,000 global brands across 40 different areas on various criteria such as revenue, brand strength, and financial health,” said David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance.

    Out of a total 5,000 global businesses surveyed, there were 500 Southeast Asian businesses, of which only 8 brands made it to the Global 500 list. The listed brands were in three categories: telecommunications, oil and gas, banking.

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  • Viettel gets one-year 5G trial license

    Viettel gets one-year 5G trial license

    Vietnam’s largest telecommunications company Viettel has received a license to trial its 5G services. The trial is licensed for a period of one year until January 21 next year. Viettel is the first company in Vietnam to receive this license. The military-owned company is allowed to trial the sevices in Hanoi and HCMC at not more than 73 locations and without charging for the services.

    The company had earmarked $40 million for the development of its own 5G chipset, but was also considering using technology from Ericsson and Nokia, its president and CEO Le Dang Dung said.

    Viettel has around 60 million subscribers in Vietnam and over 30 million more in 10 other countries, predominantly in Asia and Africa.

    Speaking at a seminar on telecoms innovations at the end of 2018, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung had expressed plans to introduce 5G by 2020, which would make Vietnam one of the first countries to deploy this technology.

    5G is the latest generation in of mobile Internet connectivity, and should offer much faster speeds and more reliable connections on smartphones and other devices compared to the current 3G and 4G technologies.

  • Vietnam’s top five brands increase value by $2.3 billion

    Vietnam’s top five brands increase value by $2.3 billion

    Vietnam’s five most valuable brands were worth a combined $8.1 billion in 2018, up $2.3 billion or 39 percent against 2017, Brand Finance estimated. The most valuable brand was military-owned mobile network Viettel at $2.8 billion last year, up 9 percent from $2.57 billion 2017, said the UK brand valuation company. The 47th most valuable telecom brand in the world has operations in Laos, Cambodia, Haiti, Mozambique and Peru.

    In second place was Vinamilk, the country’s largest dairy company by far, which was worth $1.9 billion, up 39 percent. State-owned Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) was in third place after increasing its brand value by 84 percent to $1.34 billion.

    In fourth and fifth places were Vinhomes, the real estate subsidiary of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, and Sabeco, Vietnam’s biggest brewer, at $1.18 billion and $950 million respectively.

    Samir Dixit, CEO, Asia-Pacific of Brand Finance, said: “Branding is the most critical asset of every business. It is difficult to predict the performance and behavior of customers, but the only thing that remains a constant is the brand.”

    Brand Finance’s valuation criteria uses several metrics. The value accorded to each brand is a summary of its financial strength. Each brand also gets a brand rating, which indicates its strength, risk and future potential relative to its competitors.

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  • Vietnam’s Viettel seeks to double Myanmar customer base: CEO

    Vietnam’s Viettel seeks to double Myanmar customer base: CEO

    Vietnam’s largest telecommunication company, Viettel, is seeking to double its five million subscribers in Myanmar by the end of the year. Viettel, whose $1.22 billion unit Viettel Global Investment is trading on the Unlisted Public Company Market, has also shown interest in investing in North Korea and Cuba. “The growth seen in Myanmar is rare in the telecom market,” Viettel’s president and chief executive officer Le Dang Dung said on Friday. “We still have room to grow there.”

    Myanmar, where Viettel and its local partners launched a $1.5 billion 4G network in June last year has emerged as one of the most promising markets for the company, Dung said.

    The Mytel network, jointly developed by Myanmar National Holding Public Ltd and Star High Public Co Ltd, has amassed around five million subscribers, a figure which Dung said he expects to double by the end of this year.

    Viettel is also in talks to buy stakes in existing telecommunication firms in Malaysia and Indonesia, Dung said, without giving further details due to the sensitivity of the deals.

    The company will be the first to develop a 5G network in Vietnam, Dung said, in anticipation of rapid development of data services.

    He said Viettel had earmarked $40 million for the development of its own 5G chipset, but was also considering using technology from Ericsson and Nokia.

    The military-run firm, formally known as Viettel Group, has around 60 million subscribers in Vietnam and over 30 million users across 10 other countries – predominantly in Asia and Africa.

    The company is also in talks to buy a 20 percent stake in a European mobile carrier, Dung said, without elaborating.

    Dung said Viettel plans to stop expanding its investment in the African market, however, where the company has struggled to make a profit due to poor economic growth.

    Closer to home, Viettel is looking to invest in North Korea, said Dung, where Koryolink – a joint venture between the North Korean state and Egypt’s Orascom Investment Holdings – has amassed millions of subscribers since its 2008 launch.

    “We first sought permission from North Korea to build a mobile network there in 2010,” he said. “But we’re still waiting for sanctions to be lifted and for the country to open its market to foreign investors.”

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  • Vietnamese network providers ready for 5G rollout

    Vietnamese network providers ready for 5G rollout

    Vietnamese telecom firms are seeking a head start in the 5G race as the country becomes an early adopter of the technology. State-owned Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) recently signed a deal with Finnish telecom firm Nokia to develop 5G solutions and technology for the Internet of Things. The three-year deal is worth $15 million.

    The country’s third largest mobile service provider is seeking permission from the Ministry of Information and Communications for its Vinaphone network to beta test 5G, chairman Tran Manh Hung said at a conference last month.

    He said the test would help VNPT master the technology and prepare to produce 5G equipment, adding Vinaphone is ready to provide 5G services as soon as it gets the ministry green light.

    Military-run Viettel Group has also announced it is ready to beta test 5G next year. Its deputy director, Tao Duc Thang, said its installation of infrastructure for 4G even in remote areas allows Viettel to be ready for the new network.

    5G is said to offer speeds 100 times faster than 4G, primarily used for smartphones and other similar devices. The former is also expected to support new applications like remote medical procedures and autonomous driving.

    Thang said Viettel, the country’s largest mobile service provider, is working with partners to manufacture 5G equipment.

    “I think Vietnamese operators are ready for 5G with the existing infrastructure. When the market, equipment and users are ready, developing 5G will be possible.”

    The company, which has been working on 5G plans since 2015, will start installing infrastructure early next year and introduce the service first in big cities like Hanoi and HCMC.

    The country’s second biggest mobile service provider, MobiFone, which trailed its competitors in deploying 4G, earlier this year signed an agreement with Samsung Electronics for engineering and commercial cooperation on 4G and 5G networks.

    Vietnamobile, a joint venture between Hanoi Telecom and Hongkong-based Hutchison Asia Telecommunications, has also announced its interest in offering 5G services.

    VNPT, Viettel, MobiFone, and Vietnamobile are expected to receive 5G testing licenses in January.

    Last month Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said at a conference that Vietnam should test 5G next year and ensure nationwide coverage by 2020.

    “Vietnam should be one of the first to launch the network, at least in Hanoi and HCMC.” The country had been one of the last in Southeast Asia to roll out 4G.

    This time Vietnam would be able to produce the required equipment before it launches the network, whereas for 4G the country had to wait for eight years before being able to do so, and for 2G and 3G all the equipment had to be imported, he said.

    “5G is not only an opportunity for connection services and going up the telecommunications ladder, but also an opportunity for developing the country’s information and communications technology industry.”

    The International Telecommunication Union last year ranked Vietnam 115th out of 193 economies in terms of mobile teledensity, but Hung wants the country to have 100 percent subscription by 2020 and be among top 30-50 countries in the world in data spending per capita.

    Vietnam’s telecom market was estimated at more than $16 billion in 2016, with the three state-owned providers, Viettel, MobiFone, and VNPT, accounting for 95 percent of the market.

    Viettel had the largest share with 46.7 percent, followed by MobiFone with 26.1 percent and VNPT with 22.2 percent.

    While MobiFone and VNPT are on the list of state-owned companies slated for privatization by 2020, Viettel will remain in government hands.

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  • Viettel’s foreign market earnings up in Q3

    Viettel’s foreign market earnings up in Q3

    Viettel earned gross profits of $57.25 million from overseas markets in Q3, a year-on-year increase of 8 percent. Its overseas investment arm, Viettel Global, reaped net revenues of nearly VND4.43 billion ($188.71) in the third quarter, up 5 percent over the same period last year.

    Accumulated net revenues reached VND12.43 trillion ($529.7 million) between January and September.

    The revenues include nearly VND5.61 trillion ($238.94 million) from African countries, including Cameroon, Tanzania, Mozambique and Burudi, VND4.54 trillion ($193.68 million) from Southeast Asia countries, including Cambodia and East Timor, and VND1.69 trillion ($71.82 million) from Latin America.

    The company’s revenues from its three continents rose 3-11 percent, with Latin America registering the greatest increase.

    The increase is attributed to the company’s development of 4G services, digital wallet and other information technology projects serving overseas businesses and governments.

    Viettel Global is providing 4G services in 9 overseas markets, and digital wallet services in 8 markets.

    Also, Viettel Global’s sales expense and management costs reduced 4 percent and 12 percent respectively in the first 9 months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

    Viettel Global was established in 2006 to spread Viettel Group’s presence in foreign markets. Eight out of Viettel Global’s 10 overseas markets have begun earning profits. It has taken up the largest market share of the telecommunications sectors in Laos, Cambodia, and Timor Leste.

    It plans to expand its overseas operations in the Southeast Asian region and foreign markets that share similar population sizes as Vietnam this year. The company also aims to achieve a 10-15 percent year-on-year increase in terms of the number of subscribers by the end of 2018.

  • Nokia demonstrates smart city solution for Viettel

    Nokia demonstrates smart city solution for Viettel

    Nokia has completed a demonstration of its smart city management solution IOC for Vietnamese military-run operator Viettel in support of the government’s smart city ambitions.

    Nokia demonstrated its Integrated Operations Center to the operator during a trial in Hanoi.

    The IOC solution is designed to orchestrate smart city operations providing a unified real-time management of all smart city assets and services. Using a combination of automation and analytics, the solution aims to help cities improve productivity and identify new revenue and efficiency opportunities.

    Viettel will be able to use the solution to more effectively manage traffic in Hanoi by leveraging video analytics and video management solutions.

    The Vietnamese government plans to leverage Nokia smart city technologies to address a number of common city problems such as waste management, energy management and traffic management, while enabling better utilization of resources.

    “We are honored to help Viettel conduct this important demonstration. Nokia’s IOC is a proven solution to manage smart city infrastructure efficiently. This end-to-end solution provides a real-time view of the different applications, devices and systems used in the smart city. Its integrated analytics capability further opens up new revenue opportunities for the service providers,” Nokia Global Services head of public sector practice Alexander Van Overveld said.

    “Smart cities promise to provide sustainable living, and we are committed to enabling Viettel to deliver world-class use cases and solutions to its customers.”

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  • Viettel Global to list 2.24 billion plus shares

    Viettel Global to list 2.24 billion plus shares

    More than 2.24 billion Viettel Global shares will make their debut on Hanoi’s unlisted public company market, UPCoM, on Tuesday.

    The shares of Viettel Global Investment Joint Stock Company, with the sticker VGI, will be traded on the UPCoM at a floor price of VND15,000 ($0.65) per unit.

    Viettel Global will become the largest firm on the UPCoM with market capitalization of VND33.6 trillion ($1.44 billion).

    Established in late 2007 with chartered capital of VND960 billion ($41.18 million) as a unit of Viettel Group, Viettel Global covers the military group’s overseas investments.

    Viettel Group holds 98.68 percent of the stake in Viettel Global.

    At a general meeting in June, shareholders of Viettel Global approved a plan to increase its chartered capital to VND30.4 trillion ($1.3 billion).

    In 2017, Viettel Global served nearly 40 million international customers, a growth of 13 percent from the previous year.

    To date, Viettel Global makes profits in eight of the ten markets that it operates in. The eight markets are Cambodia, Laos, Timor Leste, Mozambique, Burundi, Haiti, Peru, and Cameroon. It entered Tanzania two years ago and Myanmar just this month.

    Viettel Global plans to enter several new markets, mainly in ASEAN.

    For this year, the company targets increasing its subscriber numbers by 10-15 per cent, bringing the cumulative population of its markets to 400 – 500 million and rank among the top 10 global telecom companies.

    Viettel Global announced consolidated revenues of over VND19 trillion ($810 million) for 2017, an increase of 24 per cent year-on-year, and a net profit of VND27 billion ($1.16 million).

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  • Vietnam telecom firm Viettel eyes Philippine market

    Vietnam telecom firm Viettel eyes Philippine market

    Vietnamese telecommunication company Viettel has set its sights on the Philippines as the next destination in its overseas expansion drive.

    The company said on Thursday, as the archipelago’s economy clears the way for the entry of a third operator.

    Fixing the Philippines’ notoriously patchy and expensive telecom services was a campaign promise of populist President Rodrigo Duterte, who had said late last year that a third player would join the market and end the duopoly of PLDT Inc and Globe Telecom Inc, which have a combined market capital of about $10.7 billion.

    “Viettel is interested in the third license on telecommunications in this market,” the military-run Viettel Group, Vietnam’s largest mobile carrier by subscription numbers, said.

    “Viettel will thoroughly consider participating in case the conditions of the bidding documents are in line with the strategy of Viettel.”

    The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) issued draft rules this month on the entry of a third player, which require foreigners to team up with local partners holding congressional franchises.

    Foreign ownership of a telecom firm in the Philippines is capped at 40 percent, although Eliseo Rio, the acting ICT head, said in a recent interview that moves were underway to change that, so foreigners can raise their stakes later on.

    The Philippines has one of the world’s largest rates of average daily social media usage, yet insufficient infrastructure means its 105 million people suffer frequent dropped calls, weak signals and intermittent data.

    Viettel has already invested in 10 countries across Asia, Africa and America, and had 43 million subscribers overseas, as of end-2017.

    Last month, a Viettel official said the company was also eyeing opportunities in Ethiopia after the government there announced its intention to liberalise key economic sectors including telecommunications.

    In June, Viettel and its local partners launched a $1.5 billion 4G network in Myanmar, making them the fourth telecom operator in the country.

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  • Telco giant Viettel named biggest tax payer in Vietnam

    Telco giant Viettel named biggest tax payer in Vietnam

    A list of the 1,000 businesses that paid the most tax last year in Vietnam has been released, and includes three foreign firms in the top 10.

    Military-run telco giant Viettel topped the list after earning a pre-tax profit of nearly VND40 trillion ($1.76 billion), followed by Japanese motorbike and automobile producer Honda and state-owned energy group PetroVietnam, according to a report by the General Department of Taxation.

    Viettel is Vietnam’s largest telecom firm in terms of earnings, and operates mobile networks across 10 countries in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa with further plans for expansion. UK-based Brand Finance ranks its brand value seventh in Southeast Asia and 93rd globally.

    Japanese automobile maker Toyota and Dutch brewery Heineken were also named among the top 10 biggest tax payers in Vietnam last year.

    The rest of the top 10 was made up of state-owned enterprises: telecom firm MobiFone, major lenders Vietcombank and VietinBank, dairy giant Vinamilk and the Airports Corporation of Vietnam.

    Details of how much tax each company paid were not released, but the report said that the 1,000 biggest payers contributed more than VND90 trillion (nearly $4 billion) to the state budget in 2016, up 12 percent from the previous year.

    The top 10 accounted for nearly 75 percent of that figure, it said.

    Vietnam imposes a corporate tax rate of 20 percent.