Prime Minister (PM) Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and the telecommunications sector to become a spearhead sector and make more contributions to the country’s development during a working session with the group on August 4.

The PM suggested that VNPT should focus on hi-tech industrial production and minimize importing, while paying more attention to direct workers and sales teams to improve labourers’ income.

VNPT should also promote solidarity and better the Party building work, especially among leaders, he said.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaking at the working session

The PM requested VNPT to take the leading in Vietnam’s telecommunications market, especially in broadband telecommunications and the satellite network, while developing mobile telecommunications and bringing Vinaphone to an international level.

He called for VNPT’s stronger engagement in the building of e-government, enhancing the quality and expanding the data transmission network of the Party and State to grassroots levels, ensuring the absolute safety and security for the network which serves as a means of connection, document delivery and online conferencing between the central and local agencies.

The group should also divest its investment in other sectors, and build a plan for stronger equitization to attract more resources and improve its effectiveness, while streamlining the organization, he said.

According to VNPT leaders, the group has enjoyed good results from its restructuring since 2014.

Its leadership and management team members were reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent, while its sales force was increased to nearly 15,000 from around 4,000.

VNPT owns the largest telecommunication infrastruction in Vietnam. The group manages Vinasat-1 and Vinasat-2 satellites, providing services to the most remote areas.

Its total revenue in the 2011-2015 period reached VND 562.65 trillion, or 100 percent of its target. The group’s profit hit VND 34.09 trillion, fulfilling 92.1 percent of its goal. In its restructuring period from 2013 to 2015, it secured an average growth of 17.6 percent per annum.

In the first half of this year, revenue was VND 61.34 trillion, equal to 47 percent of its target, while profits hit VND 2.19 trillion, or 51.4 percent of its goal, up 23.5 percent year on year. The number of new mobile service subscribers reached 6.4 million, up 47.5 percent over the same period last year. Meanwhile, total Internet subcribers were 250,000, a rise of 61.2 percent over the same time in 2015.

Its total divested capital reached VND 602 billion out of its target of VND 2 trillion.

Thanks to strong restructuring, its revenue growth reached 47 percent, while budget payment grew 35 percent. The VNPT has been assigned to develop 4G service in 2016.

On the occasion, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc also attended the launching ceremony of the Vinaphone S service organized by the VNPT Vinaphone Corporation. This is the first satellite service provided by a Vietnamese provider, which covers the entirety of Vietnam’s territory, including skies, seas and islands and border areas. Vinaphone coverage has expanded to two-thirds of the world, which is useful in search and rescue activities.

Source: VNA