Currently valued at VND134.9 trillion ($5.8 billion), up 34 percent compared to 2019, Viettel was placed 102nd in Asia, and 7th in Southeast Asia, according to Brand Finance, a London-based branded business valuation consultancy.

The company saw its consolidated revenues increase by 7.4 percent in 2019 over 2018, and it currently occupies 53 percent of Vietnam’s mobile network market.

Viettel successfully operated 5G phone calls on self-developed equipment on January 17, and is expected to commercially launch 5G services this June. It plans to expand its operations both within Vietnam as well as in 10 foreign markets.

There are just 36 telecom companies in the 2020 listing of the world’s top 500 brands by value. Most of the  36 branks saw their values fall. Over the past five years, the combined value of all telecom brands in the Brand Finance Global 500 listing has fallen slightly, reaching $558.4 billion in 2020, compared to $567.7 billion in 2015. 

The Brand Finance Global 500 list covers 10 sectors in 29 markets, using a sample size of 50,000 adults over 18 years old. For the latest ranking, surveys were conducted online from September to December 2019.