Viettel has been ranked second on a list of the most valuable telecommunications brands in Southeast Asia in 2017, compiled by the UK-based Brand Finance, which specializes in brand valuation and valuations of intangible assets.

The military-run telecommunications giant’s value increased to $2.686 billion in 2017.

Its brand value ranked it second after Telko Indonesia, which has a value of $4.335 billion, and higher than Singtel (Singapore), with $2.625 billion, Axiata (Malaysia) with $2.583 billion, and PLDT (Philippines) with $1.854 billion.

The position of other Vietnamese telecommunications giants has changed. MobiFone’s brand value surprisingly fell to $391 million from $539 million last year, ranking its 17th this year.

Vinaphone, meanwhile, rose ten places from 2016 to rank tenth on the list, with a brand value of $1.04 billion compared to just $282 million last year. The total brand value of Vietnam’s three telecommunications giants stood at $4.117 billion, according to Brand Finance.

Viettel is estimated to have earned VND226.5 trillion ($10.15 billion) in revenue in 2016, equal to 100 per cent of its annual plan, while pre-tax profit was VND43.2 trillion ($1.93 billion), or 101 per cent of its annual plan.

It also contributed VND40.4 trillion ($1.8 billion) to the State budget. Compared with 2015, 2016 revenue increased VND3.8 trillion ($170 million) while profit fell VND2.6 trillion ($116 million). Return on equity was 34.1 per cent, equal to 100.4 per cent of the annual plan.

The military-run company had 7.4 million new subscribers as at the end of the year, bringing its total to 90 million, including 62.3 million domestic subscribers and 27.7 million overseas subscribers.

The group’s nine international markets, which it has operated for over three years, earned profits. Peru and Burundi recorded profits after two years of operations, while Cameroon and Tanzania are yet to record profits after one and two years.

As noted by many experts, Vietnam’s telecommunications market has become saturated, with the number of mobile subscribers exceeding the population. The three largest operators account for about 95 per cent of market share. Given that fact, 4G will be an opportunity for both large and small-sized mobile network carriers to change the current market share structure.

Singaporean telecommunications giant Singtel expressed an intention last August of securing a stake in MobiFone during its equitization.

Mr. Oliver Foo, Vice President of Business Development and the Center of Excellence Program Office at Singtel, spoke of its intentions at a meeting with Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Pham Hong Hai on August 19, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC)’s news portal, and said it hopes to become MobiFone’s strategic partner.

The ministry appreciated the entry of foreign investors into Vietnam’s telecommunications sector. “Singtel should hold discussions with MobiFone first to understand the equitization process and then submit a proposal to MIC,” Deputy Minister Hai told Mr. Foo.

VN Economic Times