Unitel urged to strengthen bridge in special relationship, economic ties

Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence, General Phan Van Giang, has called on the management and employees of Star Telecom (Unitel) to do more to contribute to socio-economic development.
He made the request when he and his party visited the company’s headquarters in Vientiane on Thursday, where he was welcomed by the General Director of Star Telecom (Unitel), Mr Tran Trung Hung.
Also present was Laos’ Deputy Minister of National Defence, Major General Vongkham Phommakone, the Ambassador of Vietnam to the Lao PDR, Mr Nguyen Ba Hung, officials from Laos’ Ministry of National Defence, and company staff.
General Phan Van Giang urged the management of Unitel to nurture the special relationship between Laos and Vietnam, take greater responsibility for business operations, and to take good care of the company’s employees so that they lived a better life.
He also urged the company to support the work of Lao and Vietnamese defence ministries, invest in new technologies, and sustain its position as a leading company in the information, telecommunications and technology sector in Laos and the Asia-Pacific region.
He encouraged the company to actively pursue digital development processes and strategies to contribute to the digital transformation of Laos. 
The Vietnamese defence minister also advised continued cooperation with other business operators, especially Vietnamese businesses investing in Laos, and to continue to be a symbol of economic cooperation between Laos and Vietnam.
After 14 years, Unitel is the largest telecoms operator in Laos and a large contributor to the government‘s budget for socio-economic development, and has gained the confidence of the Lao government and people, Mr Tran Trung Hung said.
The company is also a model of economic cooperation between the Lao and Vietnamese governments, he added.
The company operates the largest and widest mobile signal transmission network in Laos with more than 9,000 BTS stations, with 4,000 4G base stations and more than 37,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable.
Unitel has 3.5 million subscribers, comprising 58 percent of market share in the telecommunications sector, and has created jobs for over 27,000 people in Laos, Mr Tran Trung Hung said.
Unitel is a contributor to the development of society and pays taxes averaging US$53 million a year to the government.
Last year, despite the problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the company earned an income of US$210 million and made a profit of US$77 million, Mr Tran Trung Hung said.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update September 19, 2022)