FPT Telecom has opened three branches in Hung Yen, Long An and Ha Tinh provinces since the start of 2012. These are three out of eight branches that the internet service provider will inaugurate this year. Mr Nguyen Van Khoa, General Director of FPT Telecom Company talks with the press about its plans in 2012.
FPT Telecom has opened many new branches in recent times. Why has FPT Telecom decided to expand its market in 2012?
FPT Telecom’s market expansion lies in the OneFPT strategy for the period from 2012 to 2015. We chose 2012 to continue this activity because we have strongly invested and improved transmission networks, infrastructure and service quality in the past years and particularly completed major projects renovating and upgrading network capacity in 2011. This enables us to provide more services, offer more added values for customers, and bring new and modern technologies to customers by means of broadband services like ADSL, FTTH, Datacenter and cloud computing.
Besides, in 2011, we focused on optimising production and business activities to generate the highest value from our investment capital, boosting management and administration capacity. This was demonstrated by FPT Telecom’s financial indicators in 2011, with revenue growth of 42 percent and pre-tax profit growth of 33 percent.
Could you talk about the prospects of opening new branches in the current tough time of economy?
Efficiency is always our top priority. This is a huge pressure and also a strong motivation for us to develop, compete and sustainably build FPT Telecom.
FPT Telecom has provided broadband ADSL internet service since 2003 when it was introduced in Vietnam. In the first stage, FPT only launched the service in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and several major localities like Hai Phong and Binh Duong.
In 2008 and especially 2009, our company aggressively expanded service coverage throughout the country, based on specific socioeconomic conditions and demand in each province. To date, FPT Telecom has a presence in more than 40 provinces and cities.
How much has FPT Telecom invested in its branches? What are its plans now?
We identify the market size and the type of services to be provided to calculate investment value. In 2012, we will open 6 - 8 new branches across the country. On average, a branch costs VND15 - 20 billion. In 2013, we will launch 3 - 5 branches.
Would you mind telling us about FPT Telecom’s development plans in broadband markets that are reaching the saturation point, like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City?
With the current rate of fixed broadband internet users (ADSL, VDSL, FTTH, etc.) in the country, it is quite clear that fixed broadband is not really popular on a national scale. People have little access to internet and users are mainly concentrated in large cities. Fixed and mobile broadband segments are formed pretty clearly. People accessing the internet at fixed points (home, working offices, etc.) with PCs, tablet computers, handheld devices and smartphones still need more bandwidth. This demand is only met by fixed high speed services.
In addition, major markets like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have not yet reached their saturation points. Apart from annual growth of 5 - 7 percent in natural population growth, household demands are not limited to one fixed line, but users tend to use more lines to back up data, watch TV and HD movies. These demands are hard to meet with shared traffic.
In fact, the growth of ADSL subscribers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is still very good. However, to do efficient business, we must always be insightful enough to let our management system operate effectively. We continuously apply promotions but we never dump prices because we must ensure investment and business efficiency as well as other financial indicators. We focus intensive development in large markets and extensive development in new markets. Then, we identify the needs and habits of customers, provide them with currently essential services and introduce new services to them.
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