CHIẾN lược đưa VIETTEL lọt vào TOP 10 CÔNG TY đầu tư QUỐC tế lớn NHẤT về VIỄN THÔNG en

“STRATEGY FOR ENTERING VIETTEL
ON TOP OF 10 BIGGEST
INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT COMPANIES
ABOUT TELECOMMUNICATION”

GROUP VI
1. NGUYEN QUAN LAP
2. LE VAN MANH
3. BUI THI MINH NGUYET
4. HOANG VAN THANH
5. DINH NGOC TUAN

TABLE OF CONTENT
I. INTRODUCTION OF AN ENTERPRISE
II. HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT AND ACHIEVEMENTS
III. FOREIGN INVESTMENT STRATEGY
1. Foreign investment is an indispensable and objective trend of Viettel.
2. The aimed market of Viettel
3. Difficulties and challenges


4. Initial achievements
5. Viettel’s foreign investment strategy until 2020.
5.1 Targets of the strategy
5.2. Some trategies Viettel uses when entering international competition
5.2.1 Strategy of price competition
5.2.2 Strategy of differentiation
5.2.3 Strategy of branding
IV. PROPOSING SOLUTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGY AND
IMPROVE CAPACITY OF GLOBAL COMPETITION.
1. Solution about human resource

2. Solution about organization
3. Solution about equipments and products
4. Solution about application of information technology
5. Solution about thorough and fast management following military style.
6. Solution about creating business culture
V. CONCLUSION
VI. REFERENCES

I. INTRODUCTION OF AN ENTERPRISE
- Headquarter: No.1, Giang Van Minh str, Kim Ma
Ward, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi
- Full name: VIETTEL TELECOMMUNICATION
GROUP.
- International transaction name: VIETTEL GROUP
- Abbreviation: VIETTEL
- Charter capital of the Group: 50,000 billion VND (fifty thousand billion VND)


- Main business sectors: Sales of telecommunication services, telecommunications information technology in the country and abroad; surveys, consulting, design, installation
and maintenance of telecommunications and technology information; production, import
and export business, material supply, telecommunications equipment and information
technology.
II. HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT AND ACHIEVEMENTS
In 1989, General Information Equipment Electricity Company - the predecessor of the
Military Telecom Corporation (Viettel) was established.
In 2000, Viettel joined in Vietnam telecommunications market with voice service
using IP technology.
In 2001, it provided international VoIP service
In 2002, it provided Internet access service
In 2003, it provided fixed telephone services (PSTN). International satellite gateway.

In 2004, it provided mobile phone service. International optical cable gateway.
In 2006, it started implementing investment strategies abroad
It was the first enterprise which broke monopoly in Telecommunications in Vietnam,
ranks 83rd of 100 largest telecom brand in the world (voted by Imforma in 2008), its
mobile network developed fastest in the world (voted by Wireless Intelligence Magazine)
and it was the best telecom service provider of the world in developing countries (voted by
World Communication Awards in 2009). Now it is the number-one enterprise about mobile
phone in Vietnam market with over 40 million subscribers and accounting for over 40% of
market share.
There are about 30,000 staffs now. In 2011, its revenue reached nearly 6 billion USD
and nearly 1 billion USD of benefits.
III. FOREIGN INVESTMENT STRATEGY
1. Foreign investment is an indispensable and objective trend of Viettel.
Viettel decided to invest abroad stemming from philosophy and vision. If a company
lacks its growth, it is very dangerous because of the lack of opportunity for people to
strive. Besides, people are not in the challenge will be rapidly corrupted. Therefore, Viettel


need to grow, but if it just look at a limited market with over 80 million people in Vietnam,
until one time, it will stop growing.
On the other hand, when looking in the main flow of telecommunication today, we can
see that the most prominent point is trend of combination and mergence. Nowadays, there
are about 700 operators, but it’s expected that during some next years, it will be only twodigit number. So there will be about 600 operators disappearing because of no market and
no subscriber. These trends directly relate to Viettel, because without foreign investment,
market expansion, not continue to grow and no amount of subscribers, it will be among the
600 operators.
2. The aimed market of Viettel
Viettel divided the telecommunications market in the world into three categories such
as saturating market, developing market and nascent market. We can see that nascent
market is the most potential but there is not many countries in the world such as Myanmar,

North Korea and Cuba. Developing market has about 60 countries with 2 billion people.
Viettel currently focuses on promoting and looking for investment opportunity in these
countries with participation of registering license bid and acquisition of small companies
which have licenses.
Most of countries which Viettel focuses on looking for opportunity of investment are
developing markets about both economy and telecommunications. This is also advantage
of Viettel when it contacts them. In total of 30 investors of international
telecommunication, Viettel is the poorest. Because it is poor and grows up in a poor
market, Viettel has many experiences to do business in difficult markets, it can understand
and share things which developing countries are worrying about. Telecommunication is a
normal product, not a luxury service. Development of a country partly depends on
telecommunication, not only can be explosive when GDP reaches a certain level. This is
right in markets in Laos and Cambodia, although GDP is still low, when Viettel invests,
and gives out low charges and product to people, telecommunication is boomed, led to the
development of society and economy. This is also the things which the government as well
as people in developing countries need and hope to have from foreign investors. With this
empathy, Viettel considers investment negotiation is sharing experience to bring
sustainable development to a country through investment of telecommunication.
3. Difficulties and challenges


As soon as going abroad, Viettel met many difficulties because system of law, finance
and management of Vietnam was still not ready for enterprises in Vietnam to invest in
foreign countries. The bigger difficulty is comparing to other international groups, Viettel
is 10-20 years later than them and still very nascent in both economic potential and
experience, has difficulties about language and culture barriers, application for telecom
license, strong competition in the investment market and fast declined revenue trend. On
the other hand, Viettel has to compete with big groups in the world such as Vodafone,
Telenor, Orange,etc. This is also a big challenge for Viettel.
4. Initial achievements

Currently, the group invested in 3 continents (Asia, Africa, America) in countries such
as Combodia, Laos, Haiti,, Mozambique, Peru and Timor Leste. Now it is promoting
investment in Tanzinia, Argentina, Cameroon, Dominica, Ukraina,etc. Metphone in
Cambodia and Unitel in Laos of Viettel ranked 1st position about network infrastructure
and subscribers. In 2011, foreign investment brought to Viettel over 10,000 billion VND
and 1,192 billion VND of profit.
5. Viettel’s foreign investment strategy until 2020.
5.1 Targets of the strategy
From now to 2015, Viettel will invest in 10-15 foreign countries with a market of 300400 million people, bring a revenue of 2-2,5 billion USD and be on top of the 30 the
world’s biggest telecommunication service providers and one of the 10 biggest companies
which do international investment of telecommunications. Until 2020, in the market where
Viettel invests, Viettel telecommunication network will be ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in that
country.
5.2. Some trategies Viettel uses when entering international competition
5.2.1 Strategy of price competition
Viettel uses “low-cost strategy”. The service provider who was born later always has
to be better than predecessors. One of the best ones is price. It’s expected that the price
Viettel supplies is about 15-20% cheaper than its competitors. This strategy was applied
sucessfully in markets in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
In the Vietnamese market, Viettel is an enterprise which was established later, however
with popular strategy of telecommunication service, it contributed to bring Viettel from the


4th position to the 1st position about mobile phone in Vietnam and reduce telecom charge
from 3-5 times. In Laos and Cambodia, low price also contributed to bring Metfone in
Cambodia and Unitel in Laos to the 1 st position about mobile phone after 2-year service
supplying (2011).
5.2.2 Strategy of differentiation
When Viettel invests in foreign countries, Viettel is the enterprise goes after. Going
after and hoping to do better than what others did is very difficult, but to do different fro

others is easier, and about nature, doing something different from others is meant doing
better than others. No difference is meant dead. Therefore, Viettel chooses method
different from other companies and will continue to do differently with more creative and
effective targets. Viettel’s competitive strategy is blue ocean strategy, it’s meant that it
creates products which others don’t have, creates new markets, not compete with them in
traditional markets. To create difference, Viettel is persistent with the strategy:
- Strategy of investment following trend as “technology’s first, business’s next”, it
strarts from opinion of telecom business which is infrastructure business. Telecom’s
product is infrastructure. To bring the product to customers, it has to invest in
infrastructure much.
In Vietnamese market, in 2000 when starting to join in telecom market, Viettel’s
infrastructure can be considered as “number 0”, but only after 5 years, Viettel was up to 1 st
position about telecom network infrastructure in Vietnam, now Viettel had over 50,000
BTS station, over 154.00 km fiber optical cable, accouting for over 40% of telecom
infrastructure in Vietnam, it is the network which covers the deepest, the widest and the
best quality in Vietnam. In Cambodia, Laos, Haiti and Mozambique, when opening,
Viettel’s network infrastructure is equivalent to the strongest competitor, and after 1-year
opening, Viettel rised to 1st position about network infrastructure in those markets. And
these created a boom of Viettel’s subscribers after opening as in Mozambique, after 2.5month opening, Viettel had 1 million subscribers.
- It implements a philosophy of 4 any (anytime, anywhere, anybody, anyprice). Unlike
other vendors who just focus on high-income customers. Viettel care about not only
customers who can pay but also customers who have requirement to use service.
While other companies often invest in where their business comes, Viettel selects
network of strategy first and do business later. While other companies consider cties as


main markets, Viettel focuses on markets in rural areas. While other companies just
concentrate on domestic market, Viettel go abroad soon. While other companies focus on
only customers who afford to pay, Viettel cares about investment in customers in the
future. While other companies think about subscriber density, Viettel thinks that each

person has a cell phone, each household have a fixed telephone, an internet line with
broadband and a high-quality TV cable.
- Doing strictly the philosophy “business associated with social responsibility” such as
free internet for schools, support for social, charity and humanitarian activities. Foundation
for development of an enterprise is society. Viettel commits to reinvest to society through
linking business production activities with social and humanitarian acitivities. Viettel
supplied free internet for nearly 40,000 schools and educational institutions in Vietnam,
and in markets in Cambodia, Laos, Haiti and Mozambique, Viettel also commits to support
free internet for schools.
- Strategy "use human resources in a sentence": Unlike other investors who focus on
hiring foreign experts who have professionals to ensure works instead of training a highquality labour force for the country, Viettel undertakes the way as appointing the best
experts to build an apparatus, train and transfer knowledge. The last target is that after 3
years of implementation, that apparatus have to be run by the local people from
technology to business. This way will be appriciated by the people because of real value
which Viettel bring to their country.
5.2.3 Strategy of branding
When investing abroad, Viettel did not use brand of Viettel, it built a brand of the own
company in that market. For example, in Cambodia, although it is 100% of Viettel’s
capital, Viettel did not use its brand, it invested hundreds of thousand USD in reseaching
and selecting the name of Metfone. The word “Met” has the way of pronunciation like the
word “friend” in Khmer language. At the same time, Viettel determines that its business
production in that market has to be run by the local people to contribute to promote social
economy in general and for everyone to see that Metfone is Cambodia’s network and for
benefit of Combodian people. With the business philosophy and the way “following the
home’s custom enter”, Viettel believes that difference of culture is not a big problem.
IV. PROPOSING SOLUTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGY AND
IMPROVE CAPACITY OF GLOBAL COMPETITION.


1. Solution about human resource

From now to 2020, Viettel determines to invest in about 20 countries. Viettel identifies
the key apparatus to build and implement network infrastructure and business organization
as Vietnamese employers and employess, after that it gradually transfers to local people.
Recently, Viettel has had about 100 officials and staffs who are working in foreign
markets. Until 2020, Viettel will need about 2000-3000 officials and staffs who work in
foreign countries. Each year, Viettel will expand 1-2 new markets more, that means Viettel
will need at least 2 technical and business frameworks from the Board of Director to
departments and branchs. With an opinion of bringing the best things to invest in foreign
countries while still keeping the 1 st position in the domestic market which is having
increasingly fierce competition. So human resource is really a challenge with Viettel.
To meet a requirement of human resource to invest abroad, Viettel need to continue to
attract excellent students at universities in domestic and foreign countries. Annually, it
select excellent employees and open classes to train managers to supplement for markets.
On the other hand, it has to continue to improve policies with officials and staffs who work
abroad such as salary, bonus, shifting time, housing policy,etc. Besides, it need to do well
communication for every officials and staffs to have desire to bring Viettel to become one
of the 10 biggest international investment company about telecommunication, have
common awareness of going for business in foreign countries is a honor, responsibility and
obligation of each Viettel person.
Going with professtionals, quality and capability, during the next years, it should give
out mandatory requirement to officials and staffs of Viettel to have ability to use
proficiently at least one foreign language (English).
2. Solution about organization
Expansion of Strategy Department for promotion of international investment and
Group Legal Department for ensuring enough capability to research, evaluate and advise
for the Group about investment strategy in markets and direction for supporting to
domestic companies and companies which are in markets where it implement international
investment strategy. The new Investment Promotion Department has only 4 people and
Legal Department has 5 people, their capacity still hasn’t met a requirement of mission.
In coming years, the Group concentrates on investment promotion in Africa and

America where it’s a half of a round of the Earth far from Vietnam, so it will meet many


difficulties in direction and management. Therefore, it is necessary to establish more
Technology Center, domestic global business and the 2 centers in Africa and America to
support timely to implement market with network infrastructures and business
organizations.
3. Solution about equipments and products
To improve competitiveness, initiativeness, prevention of depending on partners, in
coming years, Viettel need to continue to promote production research of telecom
equipments, including production of fiber cable, terminal (USB 3G, telephone), BTS
station, Private Branch Exchange,etc. Now Viettel has 1 research institute, 2 hardware
manufacturing companies and 1 software center. It produced successfully USB 3G,
telephone, fiber cable, copper cable, sim, smart card,etc. This is one of the 4 key strategies
of Viettel.
Besides telecommunication service, Viettel should continue to encourage member
companies such as Viettel Post joint-stock Corporation (Viettel Post), Viettel Store Trading
Company (Viettel Store),etc. to invest in business of post service and retail in markets
which Viettel invests in. Now Viettel Post implements business investment in Laos and
Cambodia.
4. Solution about application of information technology
Viettel promotes international investment, it’s similar to increasing bigger scale, wider
scope and more complicated nature. To improve effectiveness of management and
administration, Viettel has to promote application of information technology (IT)
Now entire software of technology and business manggement is also designed by
Vietnamese people. The board of Director in the Group and Departments are daily able to
se quality and effectiveness of implementation of network infrastructure and business
results in markets. Viettel recently has had over 1000 points of television, it can organize
briefing meetings and online operation management in domestic districts and provinces in
foreign markets.

Viettel should continue to promote application of IT to create competitive advantage in
global market.
5. Solution about thorough and fast management following military style.


Viettel identifies that time is money. Viettel was established later, to have its big
markets, it has to be fast. It had to decide, invest, install, develop supscribers, change and
adapt fast, and do many more others quickly to create Viettel’s appearance today. With
other enterprises, transfering personnel from a province to others, even change positions in
a department may take a week, even a month, and transfering personnel to go abroad may
take many months, but Viettel can do it during a day if it’s necessary,etc.
Viettel should keep maintain fast and radical management following military style to
create competitive advantage on the international scale.
6. Solution about creating business culture
Viettel is expanding its investment to global market. A problem of cultural difference
and how to work in markets are always the biggest challenge which investors often face
with, including Viettel. This difference can affect entire business production activities in
markets, specially in a relationship between investors and local personnel, and between the
company and local customers. Although it has difference in the way of working and
language in Laos and Cambodia, nature is still Asian culture. But with American market
such as Haiti and African market such as Mozambique at the next time, difference is
bigger and more clear.
For example, in Laos, habit of not working overtime and taking rest whole weekend of
local staffs make Viettel to meet many difficulties to ensure for 24/7 customer care like
telecommunication companies often do. In comminication and working, staffs in Laos
prefer to speak softly and not familiar with military style as to obey orders. Therefore,
Viettel’s staffs decided to change both themselves and the way of looking and working of
local staffs.
Or for the lastest example, a Haiti’s delegation went to visit Viettel in Vietnam. When
being asked that what the thing which he think it’s the most impressive after 6-month

working with Vietnamese team is, the best technological staff of Haiti answered that he
was culture shock, “Viettel’s people work from morning to night, they have high discipline
and they treat together as teammates on battlefield. Even leaders also work as engineers,
not be similar to me with only direction in air-conditioned room. But now I change
because I was Viettel’s person, please be comfortable, because we are working like
Viettel’s people”.


Just like in Vietnam, Viettel in foreign countries has been creating its own business
culture. Just with passing for local staffs enthusiasm and confidence in the job they do, it
can have a community with common aspiration and remove the conflict of culture.
Viettel builds its business culture including 8 core valuations, rules of treatment,
standard of Viettel’s people, Viettel’s art of warfare, these are Viettel’s own characteristics,
it need to be supplemented, improved and applied approciately in each of market to create
global competitive advantage.
V. CONCLUSION
Globalization becomes an indispensable trend. Enterprises in Vietnam whether or not
also have to participate and be influenced by impact of globalization. A question for
enterprises is that what they should do to expand their business on a global foundation the global competitive business environment. Through the initial success of Viettel in
foreign market, we can see that if Vietnamese enterprises have desire to become a
multinational companies, with specific and different strategic goals, and enthusiatic spirit
of team of staff, they can bring their products and services to conquer international market,
and contribute to improve business and national brands.
VI. REFERENCES
1. A slide of the lecture “International Business Management” by Dr Larry R. Williams;
2. The document “Overseas investment strategy of Viettel” internal document.
3. www.viettel.com.vn
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