Success built upon a shared vision

CMC Telecom’s Deputy CEO Dang Tung Son

Malaysia’s second-largest fixed-line telecom operator, TIME dotCom Bhd. (TIME), has been a strategic shareholder in CMC Telecom since 2015. Why did you decide to partner with TIME in the first place? How has the relationship grown since then?

Back in 2013, before the deal was sealed, we realised that Vietnam would soon open up its telecommunications sector to foreign investment. The gains in foreign capital in the last few years are seen to be extremely significant, but we also observed several instances of failed marriages. Therefore, CMC Telecom was very careful in deeply collaborating with a foreign partner. Prior to TIME, we were in talks with several finance and telecom corporations from Japan and South Korea. What we desired was a shareholder that would take us further with our culture.

CMC Telecom was on TIME’s shortlist of potential partners and we first met in April 2014 to discuss the co-operation framework. With their target of enhancing mutual understanding before deeper conversation, CMC Telecom was invited for a courtesy visit to TIME’s headquarters and facilities in Malaysia. We have learnt a lot from TIME’s domestic and international business, especially how TIME grew from zero to hero, becoming the second-largest company of its kind in Malaysia, with a market capitalisation now amounting to $1 billion. They have experienced an amazing development path with clear strategies to thrive in a fiercely competitive market.

We were completely confident and trusted that CMC Telecom and TIME could co-operate comprehensively in the long term, based on the overall vision, mission, and strategy we shared. As a result, our strategic deal was completed quickly and smoothly in May 2015, a single year after the first initiatives.

From a 25-per-cent initial investment in CMC Telecom, TIME has boosted its holdings to 45.27 per cent at present. This movement proves the enhanced and long-term mutual understanding which CMC Telecom and TIME have achieved. Our mother shareholder – CMC Group – also found TIME to be a trustworthy partner with full capabilities to facilitate our development and growth.

How has CMC Telecom been doing since your establishment, particularly after the foreign investment? What impacts did the deal have on your profit and revenue?

Following the investment, in May 2015, we initiated the strategy for the 2016-2018 period. TIME got involved in the process and they were fully aware of our ambitions.

Our strategy is focused on the designed target of transforming the company into an ICT Converged Service Provider (CSP) in Vietnam, and ultimately aiming at global markets. Our key target customers are large domestic and foreign enterprises.

We also initiated five core values, namely innovation, professionalism, teamwork, speed, and customer-centrism. We believe that these values are crucial to provide us momentum towards the digital future.

TIME, with its developing experience and success in international markets, shared the same core values with CMC Telecom. TIME has gradually supported us in our operations, step by step helping us understand our customers better, beyond competitors’ knowledge, so we can act as their provider of choice in order to meet all its ICT needs and grow its own businesses.

CMC Telecom has reported an average 30-per-cent growth in sales per annum since 2015 and we will endeavour to maintain this rate in the next three years. We have also seen a 10-fold increase in profit over the last six years, standing at VND170 billion ($7.5 million) at present.

As your partnership with TIME has been tremendously successful, do you think a foreign investor can always help a local company to reach new heights?

We believe each corporation is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all solution – and this applies to foreign investment, too. For any business, it is important to have the fundamentals of a clear vision, strategy, and mission. Corporations need to think long and hard about their mission and vision for their future roadmap to decide if they need additional shareholders on board. Whether it will be a foreign or local shareholder, they must strive for the same goals.