National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue visits Viettel joint venture in Laos

Unitel is a typical example of Viettel Group's successful foreign investment around the world in recent years.

According to the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group (Viettel), on December 7, in Laos, within the framework of an official visit to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue had a working session at Star Telecom Company, a joint venture company of Viettel Group in Laos with the brand name Unitel.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue visited Star Telecom Company, a joint venture company of Viettel Group in Laos, on December 7.

At the meeting, Star Telecom representatives reported to National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on the results of production and business activities, as well as socio-economic contributions to Laos after 14 years of officially operating in this market.

Over 14 years of investment in Laos, Unitel has contributed to popularizing telecommunications services, especially in rural, remote and isolated areas. The number of Lao people with access to mobile phones has increased 6 times, from 18% to 100%. Unitel's network infrastructure has covered the whole country to 100% of districts, of which 4G covers 70% (over 96% in the capital), contributing to making Laos one of the countries with the best 4G coverage and speed in Southeast Asia, high-speed Internet is popularized to all Lao people.

Unitel is currently the largest telecommunications network operator, one of the companies that contributes the most to the budget, recognized by the Party and Government of the two countries as a typical model for economic cooperation. Creating jobs with stable income for more than 27,000 workers.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue with delegates and representatives of Viettel and Unitel leaders at the working session

Unitel also actively supports the Lao government in digital transformation and building e-government infrastructure, smart healthcare... with a total value of over 33 million USD. As the first unit to be permitted by the Central Bank of Laos to test the Mobile Money model, Unitel's U-money e-wallet has been expanded to 80,000 payment points in 18/18 provinces, connecting with all banks, playing a significant role in transferring money to poor people in areas without banks... U-Money has brought about a digital financial revolution in Laos, creating convenience for more than 1.6 million registered subscribers, 300,000 regular subscribers and achieving a growth rate of 93% in 2023.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the meeting

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue expressed his special impression of Viettel Group’s success with its joint venture investment model in Laos; acknowledged and highly appreciated the results that Unitel has achieved, contributing to socio-economic development, job creation, and ensuring social security in the host country.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue commented that Unitel is a typical example of Viettel Group's successful foreign investment around the world in recent years. Unitel has also contributed to increasing Laos' telecommunications and digital transformation capacity and making miraculous progress.

“This is also a typical example of cooperation between the two defense ministries of Vietnam and Laos. Unitel must take the yellow star on our national flag as a model, a goal to strive for, and always keep in mind that in our hearts there is always a yellow star. It must always be in the position of a star,” the National Assembly Chairman emphasized.

At the meeting, Unitel General Director Tran Trung Hung said that Laos' economy is currently facing many difficulties, especially the limited budget for digital transformation. Meanwhile, Viettel Group's products have been very successful and have been deployed in many ministries, departments, branches and localities. Viettel hopes to support information technology projects, digital services, and Viettel products in Laos so that Laos' digital transformation process can catch up with advanced countries in the world.

TRAN BINH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/chu-tich-quoc-hoi-vuong-dinh-hue-tham-lien-doanh-viettel-o-lao-post717391.html