Viettel’s foreign markets reach 83m population

With the investments in five foreign countries including Cambodia, Laos, Haiti, Mozambique and Peru, the Vietnamese military-run telecommunication firm, Viettel, so far has had one more market with more than 83 million population, approximately Vietnam’s population.

This is a great advantage for Viettel in procurement as well as research and manufacturing telecommunication equipments, Viettel said.

In February 2009, Viettel officially inaugurated its first mobile network in foreign country namely Metfone in Cambodia, after over one year of construction for the network infrastructure throughout this country. Eight months later, Viettel continued to launch Unitel network in Laos.

Afterwards, Viettel expanded its investment in Haiti and Mozambique. And most recently, by early February 2011, Viettel obtained investment license in Peru after passing a series of rivals such as Wynner Systems, a subsidiary of Russia-based Mera Networks in Peru, Americatel under Entel (Chile) and Hits Telecom Holding Company (Brazil).

Amongst above markets, Peru is the country with the largest population of nearly 30 million people (ranking at the 42nd in the world) and then Mozambique with 23 million people (ranking at the 51st), Cambodia, Haiti and Laos. Peru’s population structure is similar to Vietnam’s, the population volume of working age nearly doubles the population in the dependent age group.

According to the statistics, Peru’s population ratio below the working age is 28.5%, at the working age group (65.1%), out of working age (6.4%) and the average age at 26.2. Mozambique is the country with the youngest population with respectively figures of 45.9%, 51.1%, 3% and 16.8 years old.

The characteristics on population in these countries will be opportunities for Viettel to successfully develop many telecommunication services. In the first quarter this year, Viettel’s revenue from foreign countries saw a growth of 200% year on year. Particularly, Viettel’s revenue from telecommunication sector in 2010 in Laos and Cambodia reached over $220 million, of which, Cambodian market contributed $161 million, rising 2.8 times against 2009’s and Laos at nearly $61 million, a year on year rise of 4.5 times. – Vietbiz24

Tags: Viettel