President asks Viettel to continue leading role in telecoms industry

Reporting on the group’s performance, Viettel Chairman and General Director Maj. Gen. Tao Duc Thang said that in 2023, Viettel earned more than VND172 trillion  (US$7 billion) in revenue, up 5.4%, and contributed nearly VND39 trillion to the state budget. The ratio of pre-tax profit to revenue topped 25% over the last three years. The firm has also invested in 10 foreign markets on three continents and now ranks first in terms of the telecoms market share in seven markets.

According to the officer, Viettel has built two national-level infrastructure systems, including the superfast broadband telecoms infrastructure with five domestic fibre optic cable routes. It also has three international land routes connecting with China, Laos and Cambodia, and four undersea cable routes connecting with Asia, Europe and the Americas. Viettel operates nearly 100,000 transmission stations, including over 55,000 4G stations that reach 98% of Vietnam’s population. The other is digital infrastructure with the 5G network now present across all the 63 provinces and centrally-run cities, the Internet-of-Things infrastructure, and 13 data centres nationwide.

The group has accompanied the Government during the implementation of the national digital transformation programme in all the three pillars of digital government, digital economy, and digital society. It is the core force in the building of a high-tech defence industry complex for the country. It has mastered telecoms infrastructure devices, helping guarantee information safety and security.

Thang said the group has also completed researching and producing an ecosystem of 5G products, successfully put them into trial use, and is ready to commercialise those products in 2024 to turn Vietnam into one of the first five countries to master the 5G technology.

It has developed and manufactured over 50 products for 10 high-tech weapon and equipment sectors to meet the army’s demand, he continued, adding that some are more advanced and modern than similar products in the world.

Viettel owns 136 patents in Vietnam and 30 others in the US. The company has helped shape the cyber-security industry in Vietnam and is currently the biggest provider of information safety services in the country, according to the executive.

Extending New Year greetings to its staff, President Thuong said Viettel is truly a key and leading enterprise of the country and a State-owned firm exemplar operating in line with the market mechanism. It runs creative and effective business activities, and takes the lead in the telecoms, information technology and high-tech defence industries. It is the most valuable telecoms brand in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, and the 9th in Asia at present.

He also applauded its active role in the telecoms boom in Vietnam, helping to universalise mobile and internet services, form the country’s electronics industry, master the 5G technology, and work towards 6G.

The State leader noted that aside from doing business, Viettel also needs to contribute more to the country’s external affairs, produce high-tech weapons and equipment for the army, and continue upholding its pioneering role in the development of a digital government, digital society, and digital economy.

It is also necessary to continue developing tools and measures for protecting cyber-security, thereby helping safeguard political security and social order, including national sovereignty in cyberspace, he said.

President Thuong asked the group to step up overseas telecoms investment, export more services to the world, fulfill its social responsibility, adhere to law, and improve the quality of life for its staff members.

He also demanded Viettel to press on with training human resources and building a clean and strong Party organisation.