Prosperous year for telcos sets up greater expansion

Late December witnessed a number of new contracts signed by Viettel and its foreign partners, laying a foundation for the Vietnamese telecom player to expand its value abroad.

The deals included one with High Cloud Technologies Company from the UAE, valued at more than $1 million, to provide 5G systems for the Middle East market; and another with Network Cable Co., Ltd. of South Korea on developing optical cables and telecoms accessories.

International business is one of the group’s key pillars in 2025 after greatly contributing to its results last year. At a year-end conference held on January 3 in Hanoi, Viettel said its consolidated revenue in 2024 had hit $7.5 billion, surpassing 3 per cent of the plan and growing by 10.3 per cent, making it the highest growth rate in the industry.

Its pre-tax profit sat at $2 billion, exceeding the plan by 11 per cent. Viettel contributed $1.68 billion to the state budget, up 12.3 per cent. The average income of employees in the whole group climbed 6 per cent.

Notably, Viettel’s service revenue from international markets in 2024 increased by 17.3 per cent, contributing 80 per cent to the giant’s overall growth and seven times higher than the world average. This is the eighth consecutive year that Viettel’s foreign market segment has grown by double digits.

Viettel also expanded its business to many other services in foreign markets: e-wallet services with nearly 33 million subscribers; delivery services in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar; and network security services in 11 countries.

The group signed contracts to export radar and training simulation systems to Malaysia and the Philippines, and to export 5G equipment to India and nine Middle Eastern countries, realising the vision of a global technology group.

Modern solutions

At home, with the operation of the largest and most modern Viettel Hoa Lac Data Centre in Vietnam, Viettel is also the first enterprise to officially operate the 5G network with the largest coverage area in the country, reaching 95 per cent of the capitals of all provinces and cities, making it in the top 5 per cent of network operators worldwide with the most modern 5G architecture.

In 2024, Viettel also implemented logistics automation solutions and opened Vietnam’s first logistics park. Its IT solutions segment grew 38 per cent in 2024, accounting for 40 per cent of total revenue, holding the number one market share in the public investment sector.

The group attributed growth drivers to maintaining domestic telecommunications growth; developing international business; and successfully researching, manufacturing and commercialising high-tech products, developing logistics, cybersecurity, AI and digital technology.

Do Minh Phuong, deputy general director of Viettel said, “In 2024, Viettel’s good growth in mobile and fixed broadband service revenue is the result of long-term investment as well as a new approach, competing on the value it brings to customers instead of competing on the cost which is no longer effective. Viettel has invested in infrastructure with modern technology having superior service quality, suitable operating costs, creating conditions for revenue growth.”

“The 2024 results show that customer-centricity and substance will achieve growth, which is a lesson in sustainable business in the long term,” he added.

2024 was considered a prosperous year for many other telecos in Vietnam, with all recording higher business results than set targets, as well as significant on-year growth.

MobiFone announced that it has exceeded many business targets, typically pre-tax profit exceeding 20 per cent of the annual plan to reach more than $83.33 million. In addition, the network operator’s digital services also grew strongly with such products as MobiFone Meet (+1,050 per cent), Cloud (+312 per cent), mobiAgri (+49 per cent), and MobiFone Invoice (+58 per cent).

During the year, MobiFone focused on developing advanced technology platforms such as AI, cloud computing, 5G, and data. Its strategies to develop new products, improve services, and utilise 5G technology brought positive results, helping it enhance customer experience and enhance competitiveness in the market.

In order to seek and exchange experiences in innovation and application of advanced 5G network deployment, MobiFone has expanded cooperation with 11 comprehensive strategic partners and major partners Ericsson, Sensetime, Nokia, F-secure, VNPT, and others.

Similarly, VNPT saw its total revenue reach $2.44 billion, of which the revenue from the parent company hit nearly $1.75 billion, surpassing the annual plan by 1 per cent, and up 7 per cent on-year. Its consolidated pre-tax profit reached $253.33 million, of which the pre-tax profit of the parent Company was $190 million, exceeding the yearly plan by 3.3 per cent, and up 3 per cent on-year.

A VNPT leader said, “Although the 7 per cent revenue growth is modest, it represents its great effort amid an increasingly challenging market with many changes in market management policies and public investment in digital transformation projects showing signs of slowing down.”

Last year, VNPT searched for new products to increase revenue sources from new growth areas: Information security sector grew 58 per cent on-year; the AI business also rose 60 per cent on-year with noteworthy products such as AI cameras for smart cities and GenAI in customer service call centre analysis.

Also, in addition to improving the capacity of the 4G network, VNPT launched the VinaPhone 5G. Today, Vinaphone 5G is present in all provinces and cities nationwide.

With better performance of telcos, the IT and telecoms sector witnessed total revenue increase 13.2 per cent on-year in 2024, contributing $41.2 billion to the national GDP, up 11.2 per cent.

Future plans

Viettel says it will continue to complete its network of logistics centres nationwide, serving key economic regions with smart border gates, agricultural and industrial logistics centres, supply chain infrastructure, and multimodal transport networks.

The company will also continue to improve the efficiency of overseas investment, bringing the return rate to 91 per cent, while investing in expanding the 5G network to 18,000 stations, reaching coverage of about 30 per cent of the total network scale, equivalent to that of developed countries in 5G.

For international markets, the giant will boost its 5G network in Cambodia, East Timor, Burundi, and others. Over the next five years, Viettel’s e-wallet services will continue to be one of the main sources of growth for market players in nations like Haiti.

With the vision of becoming a pioneering tech corporation by 2030, MobiFone in 2025 will continue to develop advanced platforms while implementing human resource development programmes and improving internal sci-tech levels. The corporation will also continue to boost its digital infrastructure, partner development, and governance.

MobiFone chairman Nguyen Hong Hien said, “With the strong direction of the government and ministries, we now have a great opportunity to contribute more to the national development strongly in the new era. We are deploying strategies faster and stronger, participating in comprehensive digital transformation, and accompanying the government and businesses in improving national competitiveness.”

VNPT also building new strategies for the year. It aims to invest systematically in technology and people, improve management capacity, build a flexible corporate culture, and expand cooperation with partners to enlarge new development space.

Its general director Huynh Quang Liem said, “With advanced 5G infrastructure ready, VNPT welcomes cooperation with domestic and foreign enterprises and organisations to expand and enrich the ecosystem of digital solutions to meet the needs of innovation and digital transformation of agencies, businesses, and the community.”