According to unconfirmed local press reports Viettel Corporation, the telecoms company backed by the Vietnamese military, has restated its intention to invest in a Paraguayan mobile operator, rumoured to be Hola Paraguay (Vox), which has been owned by the government since July 2010. The news follows speculation that unnamed Viettel executives have been spotted in the country. As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in March 2011 Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo visited Viettel’s offices in Hanoi as part of a broader visit to discuss the two countries’ bilateral cooperation. Subsequently it was reported that Viettel sent a delegation to Paraguay in order to initiate official talks. Paraguayan press reports have indicated that Viettel is willing to invest at least USD100 million in overhauling Copaco’s limited infrastructure.
To date Viettel has invested in six disparate markets outside of Vietnam, and currently owns assets or licences in Cambodia (Metfone), Laos (Unitel), Haiti (Natcom), Mozambique (Movitel), Peru (Viettel Peru) and Timor-Leste. In addition, the company has expressed an interest in entering North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Slovakia, Kenya, Mali, the Dominican Republic and Cameroon.