Currently valued at $6.01 billion, up 3.4 percent from the previous year, Viettel is the only telecom brand in Southeast Asia to break into the global ranking compiled by Brand Finance, a London-based branded business valuation consultancy.

A man installs 5G equipment in Ho Chi Minh City.

The military-owned firm reported revenues of VND264 trillion ($11.47 billion) last year, up 4.4 percent from 2019, and a pre-tax profit of VND39.8 trillion, up 4.1 percent.

Viettel attributed the results to digital transformation and its switch from being a telecom services provider to a digital services provider. In 2020, the platforms it developed included digital infrastructure, solutions, content, finance, and cybersecurity.

By manufacturing 5G equipment and trialing 5G services, the company made Vietnam one of only six countries in the world to master the technology.

The Brand Finance Global 500 list covers 20 sectors in 29 markets, using a sample size of 55,000 adults over 18 years old.

There are just 34 telecom companies in the 2021 listing of the world’s top 500 brands by value. Most of them saw their values fall last year.

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Source: VnExpress