Viettel eyes up overseas expansion

Vietnamese service provider Viettel is reportedly looking to increase its overseas footprint by 2015. The operator is aiming to establish a presence in around ten to fifteen markets; it currently serves six.

The company’s deputy general director Duong Van Tinh has stated that a number of markets are “on our radar”, including Argentina, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Kenya, Myanmar, Swaziland, Tanzania and Venezuela.

The operator already has a presence in Vietnam and neighbouring Cambodia and Laos, as well as Haiti, Mozambique and Peru. It has also won a contract in Cameroon.

Acknowledging that these markets are all emerging, Duong noted that developed markets “have already been saturated and have not had new frequency resources”.

He added that Viettel would “not be hesitant” to invest in them if the circumstances were right, but noted that this would involve acquiring a stake in an existing operation, which could be prohibitively expensive as most owners demand “very high” prices.

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