Viettel wants a slice of Ethiopia

May 04, 2016 | 16:02

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Viettel Group has recently decided to open a representative office in Ethiopia, as part of its plans to expand its market coverage to between 300 and 400 million people by 2017.

Ethiopia is considered a market holding great potential for telecommunications companies, being one of the fastest growing countries in Central and East Africa with an average annual growth of 10 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP). It has a total population of over 100 million, however, only 37 per cent of which uses mobile phones. In addition, there is only one network operator in the country, Ethio Telecom.

In 2015, Viettel requested an investment certificate from the Eithiopian government. Once approved, Viettel will supply telecommunication services to 95 per cent of the Ethiopian population. Besides, Viettel will lay down 70,000 kilometres of optical fibre, contributing to developing the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Viettel has started operations in four African markets, namely Mozambique in southern Africa, Cameroon in the central region, and Burundi and Tanzania in the eastern part of the continent, reporting growth in revenue.

The company achieved impressive annual growth compared to many other multinational telecom firms. For example, Viettel’s longstanding rival the world over, Vodacom - an African mobile communications company that is larger and has more experience - saw its turnover grow only by 2.1 per cent in 2015 and the number of its subscribers grew by 7.2 per cent, one fourth of Viettel’s 27 per cent. As of now, Viettel has expanded its operations to 10 nations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, connecting a combined population of 175 million and servicing 13 million subscribers.

Viettel made a profit in all of its foreign markets. The company earned a pre-tax profit of VND1.235 trillion ($55.4 million) in Asia and VND213 billion ($9.55 million) in America. Notably, after five years of operations, the American market has moved from a loss of VND87 billion ($3.9 million) to a profit of VND213 billion ($9.55 million) in 2015. All figures were reported based on the current foreign currency exchange rate.

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