The operators of the Vietnamobile and Gmobile brands are taking steps to change their operational models, a move which is expected to intensify competition in the domestic telecommunications market.

Two telecommunications firms are switching operations models and increasing investment capital
in order to better compete with top players

Hanoi Telecom and Hong Kong’s Hutchison Asia Telecommunications – the joint owners of the Vietnamobile brand – have submitted documents to Vietnamese authorities in order to convert their current business co-operation contract (BCC) to a joint stock model.

Meanwhile, Global Telecommunications Corporation (Gtel), the Gmobile brand owner, is set to change from its current domestic investment model into a foreign investment model, teaming up with a foreign partner for telecoms network and services development.

Aside from changing their investment models, these firms have also reportedly planned an upsurge in their investment capital.

Vietnamobile is likely to gain an additional $210 million of investment capital, whereas Gtel’s capital injection will be much larger, estimated at about $2 billion.

Although many details are being withheld, it will likely take some time for the two network operators to receive approval from the government as well as finalise the legal setup for the changes.

However, when completed, these moves are expected to ramp up competition in the domestic telecoms market which largely depends on three leading players: Viettel, Vinaphone, and MobiFone, having combined market share surpassing 90 per cent.

According to Vietnam’s ICT White Book statistics, in 2014 Vietnamobile held only 4.07 per cent of the market, while Gmobile had 3.22 per cent of the 2G and 3G cell phone services market. In the 2G telephone services market, Gmobile’s share was a mere 3.83 per cent, and that of Vietnamobile was 4.43 per cent.

The market share data for 2015 were not yet available, but a recent Ministry of Information and Telecommunications report shows that last year MobiFone, the second largest telecom services player in Vietnam (behind military-run Viettel), garnered about VND36.9 trillion ($1.7 billion) in revenue, growing 8.3 per cent on year, and VND7.4 trillion ($329 million) in profits, up 1.1 per cent on year.

Viettel Group gained VND222.7 trillion ($9.9 billion) in revenue, up 13 per cent on year, and VND45.8 trillion ($2.04 billion) in pretax profits, up 8.5 per cent on year.

Meanwhile, state-owned Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), which owns operator Vinaphone, netted VND89 trillion ($4.08 billion) in total revenue, up 7.5 per cent on year, and VND3.3 trillion ($147 million) in profits, up 20 per cent on year. 

These three leading players also posted impressive subscriber growth figures last year. Specifically, Vinaphone had a total of 29.7 million subscribers by the end of last year, up 3.3 million compared to the end of 2014.

Almost 15 million new subscribers were added to MobiFone’s network, 33.6 per cent more than projected, while Viettel saw 6.8 million new subscribers, increasing its total cumulative subscriber pool to 56.4 million as of the end of last year.

In this context, with high-quality coverage stretching to most cities and provinces nationwide, Vietnamobile reported nearly 11 million 2G and 3G cell phone subscribers in 2015. The operator raked in VND9.95 trillion ($456 million) in total revenue last year.

In spite of their small size compared to the top firms, Vietnamobile and Gmobile are expected to bolster competition in the domestic telecoms market in the near future with their increased investment capital and converted investment models.