Vietnam’s telecom sector sees growth hinh anh 1A Mobiphone employee instructs a man on how to use 3G services. Mobiphone and two other domestic telecom providers posted high growth and revenue in February. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Three domestic telecom companies are reported to have registered high growth and revenue in February this year.

The information was released at a meeting conducted by the Ministry of Information and Communications in Hanoi early this week.

Pham Duc Long, General Director of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Groups (VNPT), said that in the first two months of this year, VNPT completed 15.7 percent of its sales target in 2016, with a growth rate of 9.2 percent against the same period last year. The group also saw a profit growth of 20.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Besides, VNPT has so far completed restructuring and handed over its assets to its corporations. Currently the corporation has been operating under the new mechanism.

According to Mobifone chairman Le Nam Tra, along with the growth in new subscribers, Mobifone last year earned a revenue of 2.6 trillion VND (117 million USD) or a year-on-year increase of 29 percent. MobiFone last year developed the highest number of new subscribers, with 15 million, up by nearly 54 percent compared with 2014.

Mobifone has submitted its divestment plan to the State Securities Commission (SSC). It is expected that between April and May this year, the plan will be approved by the SSC.

Currently, Mobifone has developed a television service in line with its management system. In January, Mobifone, Vietnam's second largest mobile network operator, acquired 95 percent of stake in Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG).

According to Mobifone's evaluation, AVG network owns a system with good transmission that the carrier could take advantage of to deploy its 4G network in the future, while Mobifone, with its experienced customer care services, can combine TV and mobile telecommunications and bring in huge revenue to the corporation.

In addition, Mobifone has already signed a contract with Apple to be a distributor. It is expected that this month, Mobifone will be selling Apple's products such as iPhone and iPad in the domestic market.

According to Do Minh Phuong, deputy general director of Viettel Telecoms, in February, Viettel telecom reached total revenue of 18 trillion VND. Of this figure, 12 trillion VND is from local market and 1.9 trillion VND is from abroad. It is expected to earn a profit of 3 trillion VND in February.

Phuong also told participants about the success of its maiden participation in the Mobile World Congress 2016 (MWC 2016) that took place in Barcelona, Spain, from February 22 to February 25.

At the show, Viettel introduced its IT products based on the telecom foundation such as e-government solution, e-school (SMAS), sales management solution for distribution chains, and family electronic 1-phase electricity power meter (SMMS.One), as well as e-office, customer services and billing systems.

At the end of 2015, Viettel was operating in 10 countries in Asia, Africa and America, and had 85 million subscribers, besides earning 238 trillion VND in revenue and achieving a growth rate of 20.8 percent.

Viettel began operations in Burundi and Tanzania in 2015, and set significant records.

In Burundi, Viettel's Lumitel brand has become the top brand, up from fourth place in just three months. In Tanzania, Viettel's Halotel signed up one million subscribers, also in three months.-VNA
VNA