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IT giant FPT gains foothold in US market despite recession
It seemed that FPT's plan to expand its business in the US was scuttled when Viet Nam's leading IT firm entered the market in mid 2008 – a time when the world's largest economy fell into a deep crisis. However, despite the crisis, it has managed to retain a firm foothold there.
Shortly after entering the US market, the company's revenue quickly increased and reached US$5.5 million in 2009. From being a largely unknown player, FPT has become familiar to US partners, such as Free Scale and Omgeo, who have set up business ties with the company.
Apart from the US, FPT also expanded into Japan and Singapore where the company has been successful as well.
According to Deputy General Director of FPT Software Nguyen Lam Phuong the Japanese market brought in 56 percent of the company's total revenue last year, while Singapore accounted for 21 percent.
The army-run telecom group, Viettel, kicked off it's market expansion by cornering the markets in Cambodia and Laos.
In September 2009, Viettel officially launched its Metfone service in Cambodia, becoming the largest telecom provider in the country with 60 per cent of the ADSL service provision market and 50 percent of the fixed line telephone market. With 2 million mobile phone subscribers, Viettel currently ranks second out of nine mobile service suppliers in Cambodia.
The group also developed its Unitel network in Laos, which offers third generation (3G) services and high-speed wireless internet for mobile phones and computers. At present, Unitel owns the largest number of base transceiver stations (BTS) – more than 900 – in Laos, accounting for 35 per cent of the country's total BTS.
As well as Laos and Cambodia, Viettel plans to open a representative office in Myanmar.
To date, Viettel and FPT are Viet Nam's first telecom enterprises to invest in foreign countries.
In 2010, FPT targets a growth rate of 20 percent in software processing in foreign markets overall, and seeks to make that figure 100 percent in the US market alone, compared to last year. The company also plans to open a second branch in Europe.
Meanwhile, Viettel expects that Metfone will provide the best cable services in terms of network coverage, quality, price and customer care.
In addition, the group wishes to enter the US and Bangladesh markets to expand its operations.
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