Viettel chairman flags mounting growth, technology pressures after record 2025

Military-run Viettel faces intensifying pressure to sustain growth and make the right technology bets after what it described as a record year in 2025, said chairman and CEO Tao Duc Thang.

According to information published on the group’s internal portal, Thang said Viettel delivered strong performance “across all fronts” last year.

On the technology front, the company deployed nearly 30,000 5G base stations nationwide to accelerate digital transformation, reinforcing its position as the country’s largest telecom operator.

Internationally, Viettel’s overseas markets continued to post robust growth, with revenue and profit remaining at record highs. The group also expanded its global footprint by opening representative offices in developed and regional hub markets including Australia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan.

Viettel stepped up cooperation with partners to export digital and high-tech solutions to potential markets, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. In high-tech industrial research and manufacturing, the group deepened collaboration and technology learning with partners in South Korea and Turkey.

Several subsidiaries, including Viettel Telecom, Viettel High Tech, Viettel Solutions, Viettel Post, Viettel IDC and Viettel Manufacturing, have increasingly coordinated to expand overseas, reflecting a push to build an integrated global ecosystem.

Still, lieutenant general Tao Huu Thang, a Party Central Committee member, cautioned that greater success comes with greater challenges.

“As a market leader and pioneer, we cannot stand still. Each year must outperform the last,” he said, pointing to rising expectations from the Party, the Government, the Military, and the public for superior, faster, and more efficient products.

A key source of pressure is growth, he noted. Vietnam’s telecom market, like many others, has reached saturation after two decades of rapid expansion. With mobile penetration already high and many users owning multiple devices, traditional services offer limited room for further revenue gains.

At the same time, the accelerating pace of technological change poses strategic risks. Choosing the wrong technology path could prove costly, Thang said, underscoring the difficulty of ensuring that investment decisions are timely and generate commensurate returns.

In response, Viettel’s leadership has urged staff to treat pressure as a catalyst for innovation, stressing that targets must remain realistic and aligned with market conditions rather than aspirational for their own sake.

Viettel, Vietnam’s largest telecom and technology group, reported a 4.5% year-on-year rise in pre-tax profit to VND56.8 trillion ($2.16 billion) in 2025, supported by strong growth in overseas markets.

Revenue climbed 13.8% from a year earlier to VND220.4 trillion ($8.39 billion), marking Viettel’s second consecutive year of double-digit growth.

Viettel targets average annual growth of 12-14% through 2030, with overseas revenue from telecom and digital services expected to account for 35-40% of total sales.