Vietnamese military telecom firm Metfone has posted an accumulated revenue of more than $2.2 billion during its 10 years of operation in Cambodia with its accumulated profit reaching $300 million, according to a Viet Nam News report.
The Vietnamese state-owned media newspaper quoted Le Dang Dung, acting chairman of Viettel, the parent firm of Metfone, during the celebration of Metfone’s 10 years of operation in the Kingdom last week as saying by the end of last year Metfone had helped Viettel pay back its dividend of nearly $250 million, nearly six times higher than its investment capital.
He said Viettel considers Metfone’s new mission to be modernising the economy with advanced technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and big data.
“After 10 years of development, we realised the goal of Metfone of being a pioneer in building the digital economy and society in Cambodia,” Dung said.
‘Boosting local economy’
Metfone reported it has contributed $500 million in taxes to the Cambodian government and directly created 3,000 jobs.
Metfone started offering services in Cambodia on February 19, 2009. The firm
announced that after two years of operation in Cambodia, Metfone holds a market share of 48 per cent.
Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia spokesperson Im Vutha on Sunday said the Kingdom’s telecom sector is growing and the success of its telecom operators have contributed to government revenue through taxes, annual licensing fees and other non-tax revenue.
He added that the development of the sector has also contributed to boosting other sectors such as education and business as it provides easier methods of communication and makes people’s lives easier.
“Future economic trends will be digitally based, so we believe that the company [Metfone] will use more of its profit to invest in infrastructure and will be more helpful in boosting the local economy,” he said.
According to Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications figures released last month, the number of registered SIM cards provided the Kingdom’s mobile operators reached 19.3 million by the end of last year, a nearly four per cent increase from the end of 2017.
The figure is equivalent to 120 per cent of Cambodia’s total population of more than 16 million.
