Vietnam phone firms top ASEAN list

The list was announced on April 12 by the UK–based Brand Finance, an independent intangible asset valuation consultancy firm.

Viettel is ranked seventh compared to 17th last year, with a capital of US$973 million. MobiFone is 15th, up from 19th with capital of US$539 million. VinaPhone comes in 20th place (21st last year) with capital of US$282 million.

Leading the list are Indonesia’s Telkom, Singapore’s Singtel and the Philippines’ PLDT.

However, no Vietnamese brand made it into the Top 10 Strongest ASEAN Telecom Brands.

Unitel, Viettel’s Lao subsidiary, topped the list of Five Best Performing Brands (25th last year) with a 106% increase in brand value, followed by MobiFone (15th last year) with a 76% increase and Viettel (7th last year) with a 68% increase.

VinaPhone achieved growth of 47%, but failed to make the top five.

All three Vietnamese telecom companies have also improved their positions in the Global Telecom Rank, with Viettel rising to 93rd from 126th last year, MobiFone to 125th (165th last year) and VinaPhone to 167th (193rd last year).

Brand Finance considered three key factors that impact brand value: brand strength, business performance and external aspects.

Brand strength is the most critical because that is what the organisation has most control over and that is where all the marketing money is spent. Business factors are somewhat controlled by the organisation, but are more driven by market forces. External factors are not at all controllable.

Brands provide the ability to demand a premium for products and services. As stronger brands drive higher revenues, investors would also be willing to pay a premium for the company.

In 2016, the five best performing telecom brands are from the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar, showing that ASEAN will be a more competitive playing field very soon, the report said.

The increasing brand values are a strong reflection of the preparedness of local telecom operators in the face of threats from foreign entrants.