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Natcom- a joint-venture company of Viettel in Haiti |
The company has recently celebrated its seventh founding anniversary and declared its dividend in 2017 of USD 3 million.
It was the first time since its official operation in September 2011 that Natcom had paid dividends for its shareholders. The payment was important to the Haitian Government after seven years of operation of the joint venture, contributing to proving the successful operation of the company to the Haitian Parliament and confirming the company’s position in the country.
In the first six months of this year, the numbers of Natcom’s mobile and optical fiber Internet subscribers increased by 1.5 times and two times, respectively, in comparison to those in the whole year of 2017.
In early August this year, Natcom was approved by Haiti to exploit the 1,700Mhz “golden frequency band” to provide 4G services. This frequency band is seen as an important weapon for the company to compete with other 4G network providers in the country.
At present, Natcom is expediting its equipment purchase, and building infrastructure throughout Haiti.
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A roadshow popularizing a festival celebrating seven years of operation of Natcom in Haiti |
Earlier, the company fought off stiff competition from other competitors to win important contracts, such as a USD 5.5 million project with the Haitian Government to build a national road network, a USD 425,000 contract with UNESCO, 4G service provision for the office of the Haitian President, the 2nd N-Office project for the General Department of Customs, provision of 24 Internet links to member schools of the Haiti Medical University, bringing nearly USD 400,000 to the company.
The Haitian Government has also agreed to apply tax exemption on imported materials and equipment for Natcom to overcome the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in 2016 till the end of this year, helping the company save USD 2 million.
According to Natcom’s General Director Ha The Duong, the difficult time of Natcom in Haiti has been over and the company has reaped business outcomes. Licensed with 1,700 Mhz “golden frequency band,” the company will be able to compete with other 4G providers.
So far, Natcom has ranked the first in infrastructure in Haiti with 1,800 2G/3G/4G stations, 6,000km of optical fiber cables and the 2nd in the market share with nearly 3.4 million customers, accounting for 35 percent of the market-share.
Natcom targets to achieve a growth in turnover of 17.5 percent this year.
Translated by Mai Huong