The ceremony was attended by Lao Deputy Prime Minister Sonsay Siphandone, Lao Defense Minister General Chansamone Chanyalath, Lao senior officials, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung.
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At the ceremony. (Photo: thanhtra.com.vn) |
At the event, General Chansamone Chanyalath presented the first-class Isala Order and the first-class Phatthana Order to Unitel in recognition of its contributions to the socio-economic development and the defense-security maintenance of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
The Lao defense minister stressed that the Lao government and people highly treasured the operation of Unitel in Lao, which helped promote local socio-economic development and contribute to tightening the traditional friendship and special solidarity between the two countries and militaries.
He noted that the Vietnamese network operator has not only contributed to the Lao GDP, created many jobs for Laos, and conducted social welfare programs but also changed the Lao domestic telecommunications market and gave a new look to the country’s information technology and telecommunications sector. The Unitel network has covered the entire country since its foundation day so every Lao citizen has access, contributing to fulfilling the master plan of the country, he added.
Currently, Unitel is the top telecommunication brand in Laos which has been increasingly modernized with advanced technologies such as the fifth generation (5G) network, artificial intelligence (AI), virtue reality (VR), big data, and new services such as digital banking and e-governmental projects.
Tao Duc Thang, Viettel’s Deputy Director, said that the company is focusing on new sectors such as transferring digital data for the authorities, building e-government, and improving technologies.
The company’s accumulated turnover reached US$ 1.45 billion after ten years of operation while its accumulated profit is US$ 540 million. Its revenue before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) always stands at over 55 percent. Notably, Viettel has recovered its investment in the Lao market after 5 years of operation.
Translated by Trung Thanh