Luận văn thạc sĩ quản trị kinh doanh quốc tế MBA (220)

INTRODUCTION -o0o Telecommunications industry, especially mobile telecommunications sector has been growing in Vietnam and around the world Additionally, the rapid development of science and technology, particularly in the telecommunications sector also requires businesses to provide mobile telecommunications services to pay more attention to quality and value of services This development trend has great impact on competitive strategies of Enterprises Businesses not only simply focus on price competition to attract customers but also improve the quality as well as promote its brand in the minds of consumers This creates a new competitive trend, essential for businesses operating in the telecommunications sector in Vietnam today Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company (Mobifone) is the mobile company first established in Vietnam During nearly 20 years of formulation and development, Mobifone is one of the leading mobile networks in Vietnam However, in order to survive and thrive in the competitive telecom market today, and especially to succeed in implementing the long-term business objectives, Mobifone need to build the right strategies Based on actual trends and developments of mobile telecommunications market in Vietnam, our group has decided to choose the subject: "Selection of business strategies for Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company (Mobifone) in the period 2012-2017 vision to 2020” Capstone project report is studied on two purposes: On basis of analyzing rationale of Strategic management and the current business environment of Mobifone, our group has chosen appropriate business strategies for Company in the period of 2012-2017 vision to 2020 Theme is based on the rationale of Marketing, Strategic Management and perspectives on business strategy In addition to some traditional research methods such as synthesis, comparison and analysis based on data collected, our group has employed some specific research methods of marketing areas and strategic management like SWOT, PEST, IFE and five competitive forces model of Michael Porter In addition to the introduction, conclusion and reference list, topic includes three chapters: Chapter I: Rationale about business strategy and the process of formulating the strategy of Enterprise Chapter II: Analysis of business environment of Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company Mobifone Chapter III: Choice of business strategies for Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company Mobifone in the period of 2012-2017 vision to 2020 Due to certain restrictions on the access to information as well as time of studying, capstone project report meets inevitable shortcomings; we hope to receive the comments of teachers and readers CHAPTER I: RATIONALE ABOUT BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE PROCESS OF FORMULATING THE STRATEGY OF ENTERPRISE The basic theory of strategy and business strategy 1.1.1 The concept of strategy Business organizations use the term "strategy" to talk about what they based on their strengths and weaknesses in the context of opportunities and threats According to McKinsey (1978), "Strategy is a set of operation chains designed to create sustainable competitive advantage." Professor Michael Porter, Harvard University said that the strategy is "proposing a unique nature", is "value creation chain which is different from competitors." So it can be said that strategy is a plan to give Businesses a competitive advantage over rivals A good strategy implemented effectively will help managers and employees at all levels identify targets, awareness of action and contribute to the success of their business 1.1.2 The concept of business strategy In the book "Manager's guide to strategy" (2004), author Roger A Formisano has launched a comprehensive concept of business strategy “A business strategy is a detailed plan for achieving success, the bundle of decisions and activities that we choose to achieve our long – term goals Strategy is the path we choose Every organization has to figure out what it wants to achieve and then how it is going to make it happen, with its products, customers, and operations.” In other words, strategy and business strategy can be understood as the one which is more related to how a business can compete successfully on a specific market It concerns strategic decisions about choice of products to meet customer demands and gain competitive advantages over competitors, exploiting or creating new opportunities 1.2 The role of business strategy in the modern market economy The role in planning: business strategy helps businesses see clearly purpose and its direction It points the administrator out that which directions the organizations should develop and when it will achieve the expecting results The role in prediction: In an environment always changes, opportunities as well as administrator threats analyze always appear environment and Strategic make planning predictions process to helps identify reasonable strategy Thus managers can better grasp and take advantage of opportunities and reduce risks related to business environment The role in controlling: Business strategy can help managers in usage and allocation of available resources in an optimal way, as well as coordinating effectively within the organization to achieve common goals 1.3 The type of business strategy 1.3.1 Classification of strategic business in term of level strategy  Corporate-level strategy This is the strategy related to the overall objectives and scope of business to meet the expectations of the shareholders; as a claim for long-term goals and the development orientation of the organization  Business Strategy Business strategies related to how a business can compete successfully in a market (the market) specific, in which strategy should indicate how firms compete in the different industry and how to allocate resources efficiently  Functional or departmental – level strategy These strategies are related to how each component functions in the company held in order to implement the strategic direction at corporate level and in each business unit within the enterprise 1.3.2 Classification of strategic business in accordance with function Based on the function that strategy can be divided into the following groups:  Group of integration strategy There are backward integration, forward integration, and horizontal integration Forward integration is implemented by the enterprise in order to increase power of control or ownership of the distributor or retailer Backward integration is implemented by enterprises to make up the ownership or control over suppliers This will allow businesses to stabilize in the supply, control input costs Horizontal integration: to control business rivals This strategy allows concentration of resources, expand activities and increase the competitiveness of enterprises  Group of deep strategy In this group, there are strategies such as market penetration strategy, market development and product development strategy: Market penetration Strategy: to increase market share for products or services available in the market of the business Market development strategy: the introduction of products or services of the business in new geographical areas Product development strategy: launch the production goods or services similar to existing products of these enterprises which have improved or modified in the present market  Group of expansion strategy The group includes concentric diversification, horizontal diversification of activities and mixed diversification strategy Concentric diversification: bring into the market products or services related to the current product Horizontal diversification: launch new products or services, not related to the products in the existing market and group of existing customers Mixed diversification: launch new products or services, not related to the products in the existing market 1.3.3 Other group In addition to the above strategy, in practice there are a number of strategies which businesses can apply as a joint venture strategy, narrowing the active action, up activities, liquidation, etc Venture strategy: when one or more linked enterprises together to pursue a certain goal Narrowing strategy works: when enterprises need to restructure, TTU carried out a number of products or fields to save the position of the business Liquidation strategy means the sale of assets of the business Businesses to accept defeat and try to save what could be 1.4 The process of building the business strategy of the business 1.4.1 Define the mission and goals of the business 1.4.1.1 The mission The mission is a valid statement of purpose and long term is to distinguish the characteristics of businesses, business philosophy, principles of corporate business For each enterprise, the clearly defined mission of the enterprise is a prerequisite to ensure consensus in the internal; forming the basis of organizational resources to maintain and enable target to convert into specific strategic measures and orientations for sustainable development company 1.4.1.2 The objective of the business Objectives are developed from the mission, separate and more specific, it is shaped in the long term, medium or short term Although how are objectives, the organization should ensure that these goals have feature of specificity, flexibility, consistency, ability to measure, to reach and to accept 1.4.2 Analysis of the external business environment of enterprises The business environment of enterprises includes all the external factors having an impact, directly or indirectly to decisions or activities of the business These are factors that can not be changed by business, but the Enterprise can just find the way to adapt, to take advantage of opportunities while avoiding or reducing the risk of damage which external environment brings The business environment outside of the enterprise is divided into two environments as the macro environment and industry environment 1.4.2.1 Macro environment Macro environmental factors indirectly affect businesses in the economy  The political– law environment Political - law environment includes laws, rules and operations of state agencies that affect the operation of the business Even though it may indirectly affect business operations of the business, this factor plays a very important role in determining the business direction of the business  Social - cultural environment Every business operates in the certain social-cultural environment Business and socio-cultural environment is linked closely with the mutual interaction Society provides the resources that businesses need and consumption of products that businesses produce The common social values, traditional practices and lifestyles, the religious ideology and population structure, collection of population have much impact on the operation of business organizations  Economic Environment Economic environment is the characteristics of the economic system in which businesses operate Economic environment consists of the key factors affecting the operation of the business as economic growth, economic policy and national business cycle  Technological Environment Technology is the most dynamic elements of the business environment Changes in technology bring new challenges and risks to businesses, technological innovation makes product life cycle shorter and shorter  Physical environment Physical environment includes natural resources and economic infrastructure  International Economy Environment Vietnam is increasingly deep integration into the world economy, Vietnam enterprises are ongoing efforts to expand its market abroad, so the international economy environment especially in volatile situation as today, there are certain influence on business activities of enterprises in the international area 1.4.2.2 Micro-environment (sector environment) Micro-environment includes external factors having a direct impact to the operation of the business To study on the impact of sector environment, there are several methods Michael Porter launched five competitive forces model to research sector environment Five forces are described as follows: Diagram 1.1: five competitive forces model of Michael Porter  Customers (Buyers) Customers refer to people or organizations that use the products and services of the business Customers include the final consumer, intermediate distributors, and so on Customers are an important element of the business; the changes of demand, the satisfaction of the customer's interests are the pressures on the operation of the enterprise, the freedom to choose products, leading to competition among manufacturers  Suppliers Providers are organizations or individuals providing materials, materials, works or services to businesses The advantages and privileges of providers can create pressure on telecom companies for providing time, quality, price, stable supply of raw materials and the other inputs  The competitors Competitors are organizations or individuals who can meet the needs of enterprise customers with the same type of products and services with the same brand or another brand Along with customers, competitors always caused pressure on businesses, the rivalry among the competitors requires businesses to apply strategies to gain advantage and improve their position on the market  The new business entrants The entry of new businesses will increase the level of competition between firms within an industry But the threat from the entrants of new firms will depend on the conditions to entry, if the conditions for joining the industry are too strict, the entrants will rarely happen or not happen In contrast, the conditions to entry are easier, more businesses are encouraged by profit, joining the industry will occur massively Mobile telecommunications industry in Vietnam has stably increasing revenue and profit, which leads to a number of new businesses looking to enter  Substitutes If the alternatives for its products are available, customers can switch to alternative products if existing firms set high prices The determinants of this threat are: - Prices and relative utilities of alternative products: - Switching costs for consumers - Tendency to substitute of the buyer After analyzing the affect of the factors of the business environment, our group has used EFE model to comprehensively evaluate the role and level of impact of the business environment to operation of the business Table 1.1: External factors Evaluation Matrix (EFE) External The importance The impact on the factors of level of factor as Company Company to the sector (1) (2) Factors list Assessing ladder Direction impact: Point (4) (5) (3) = biggest weakness Positive = minimum weakness brought the plus (+) = smallest strength = biggest strength effects against the negative (4)=(2)*(3) factors, bearing the inhibitory brought the (-) 1.4.3 Analysis of Internal Company Environment Enterprises which have advantages and limitations, so the internal analysis of the enterprise to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the business and help business managers develop strengths and overcome weaknesses… Main contents of internal environmental analysis business include: - Analysis of the organizational structure, leadership - Analysis of financial situation - Analysis of human resources - Technological capacity and capability of research and development Usually the internal elements are listed in the table of internal situation of the business in the following form: Table 1.2: Internal Factors Evaluation Matrix of the Company: Internal factors The importance level of The impact on the of Company factor as to the sector Company (1) Factors list (2) Determine (3) the = biggest weakness Point (4) importance by sorting = minimum weakness from 0.0 (not = Smallest strength (4)=(2)*(3) important) to 1.0 (most = biggest strength important) of each factor The total of importance level must be equal 1.0 1.5 Formulation and choice of strategies There is a need of using SWOT model in order to forming ideas on basis of determining Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats This matrix is given to assess generally the main strengths, weaknesses inside Company; opportunities as well as threats of the environment outside Company From which, it can help the administrators develop four types of the following strategies: - Strengths – opportunities strategy: use the strengths within the Company to take advantage of external opportunities - Weaknesses - opportunities strategy (WO) to complete internal weaknesses by taking advantage of external opportunities - Strengths - risk Strategy (ST) use the strengths of the Company to avoid or reduce the impact of external threats - WT strategies are defensive tactics in order to reduce the weaknesses inside and avoid the threat of the external environment Table 1.3: SWOT model S – Strengths W – Weaknesses O- Opportunities Strategy S – O Strategy W – O T- Threats Strategy S – T Strategy W - T 1.6 Building strategies in accordance with level This is the final content in the process of developing strategies for business Based on the strategic choices from the previous steps, the administrators will select the most appropriate strategy for the enterprise, however, for each level, enterprises can apply different strategies As mentioned above, the administrator can choose according to different strategies: 10 provinces Customer needs require more attention, be better served In order to conduct successful implementation of the development of value-added services, it requires providers to have a vision and investment in fixed capital Information systems and financial systems need to be integrated with high levels of availability through secure on-line applications On the other hand, for large telecommunications providers, the creation of value added services or senior services make the company's image from being a special gadget into a strong brand and focusing on customers Thus, for VMS can focus on the development of new services as follows:  Developing and diversifying the value-added services based on short message such as MMS multimedia messaging service with integrated text messages, sounds, images  Researching to develop new services applied GPRS and 3G technology, accelerate the speed of data transmission, Internet access  Supporting for basic voice services to all subscribers: switching domestic and foreign areas, transferring calls for pre-paid subscribers and so on  Research to apply IMS services: - The interactive applications: interactive game (game play between mobile phones), data file sharing (sharing files between the phone like the image file, text) - The emergency message service, send and receive messages immediately - Push to Talk: information device service to a person and a person to many people This application will bring new opportunities for device information in real time - Voice messaging: Instant messaging urgent news content in the form of audio files 3.2.3 Diversification strategy Specifically, here is the diversification strategy of concentric activity which launches products and services related to the current product to market Diversification strategies are used to expand firms' operations by adding markets, products, services, or stages of production to the existing business The purpose of diversification is to allow the company to enter lines of business that are different from current operations When 43 the new venture is strategically related to the existing lines of business, it is called concentric diversification Concentric diversification occurs when a firm adds related products or markets The goal of such diversification is to achieve strategic fit Strategic fit allows an organization to achieve synergy In essence, synergy is the ability of two or more parts of an organization to achieve greater total effectiveness together than would be experienced if the efforts of the independent parts were summed In the future, Mobifone can focus on solutions as:  Expand the marketing model through mobile devices in Vietnam serving businesses in need of promoting and introducing products and services to customers; and increasing cooperation with banks to sell scratch cards, extended payment charges ATM device  Developing e-commerce: Look up, transfer, pay through SMS, GPRS; increase cooperation with the banks to sell scratch cards, expand telephony charges payment through ATM; apply M - Commerce: mobile subscribers can pay all kinds of goods purchased either directly or through the network  Diversifying mobile content services in order to bring large revenues, for example developing the services which allow users to quickly get needed information such as location of nearby supermarkets, cinemas, ATM stations and post offices, banks, help customers to register taxi and search public transport services available nearby  Support for basic voice services to all subscribers: domestic roaming and international call forwarding for prepaid 3.2.4 Strategic Alliances Strategic alliances are the original form of the type of Cooperative Alliance in which firms combine some resources and capabilities to create competitive advantage Strategic alliances with leverage help businesses make use of existing resources and capabilities meanwhile with partner to develop resources and other capacities as the basis for new competitive advantages The strategic alliance will help companies gain market power; this means reducing the exceeding supply of the industry Moreover, the alliance enables access to use the additional resources more easily, gain an advantage 44 based on size, to overcome the barriers to trade, to meet the competitive challenges from competition and general resources for huge capital projects Even more importantly, the participation in the alliance enables the tacit transfer of knowledge between firms This is a very worthwhile strategy that Mobifone should take into consideration when entering into the mobile telecommunications markets overseas 3.2.5 Selection for appropriate strategy for Mobifone in the period of 2012 2017 in vision to 2020 In this part, our group has applied the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) in which we used input data from the analysis in the above steps to help administrators make objective decision which of alternative strategies is the most attractive one and deserved for enterprises to pursue to implement successfully its goals Development of matrix QSPM includes: - List of opportunities / threats outside and the key strengths / weaknesses in the column (1) of the matrix These factors are taken directly from the EFE Matrix and IFE - In column (2) of the matrix, there are numbers corresponding to each element in the classified columns of the EFE Matrix and IFE - In the next columns are our strategic options in the previous part, including market development strategy, product development strategy, diversification strategy and strategic alliances - Determination of the attractions (column A): The elements within: = weakest, = least weak, = least strong, = strongest; the external factors: = action the company's response poor, = response of the company average, = response of the company above average, = reaction of the company very well These values indicate the relative attractiveness of each strategy compared with other strategies in the same group of strategies can be replaced - The total number of attractive strategic review of each individual for each critical success factor listed in column (1) by multiplying the number of classification attractions in each row (for column B) - Cumulative number of attractions for one of the attractions of each strategy (taking into account all the factors inside and outside the appropriate can affect strategic 45 decisions) The higher the total score, the more appropriate strategy and the more worthy choice to make The key important factors Classification Table 3.2: Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix Selected strategies Product Market development development strategy strategy B 0.3 0.15 0.6 A 4 B 0.4 0.2 0.45 A 3 B 0.3 0.15 0.45 A 4 B 0.2 0.2 0.6 Diversification Strategic strategy alliances Financial capacity Distribution ability Prestige of brand 0.1 0.05 0.15 A 3 Service quality Diversity of 0.15 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.45 0.1 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.05 0.15 0.1 0.2 0.15 0.15 0.45 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 Leadership 0.05 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 Economic growth 0.15 0.45 0.45 0.6 0.6 GDP per capita 0.2 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 Inflation rate Political-law 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.05 0.15 0.1 0.15 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.1 0.15 packages Price on the market Ability to serve customers Technological capacity Human resource situation Rules on promotions Technological policies Participation in WTO, agreement for foreign investors in telecom sector 46 Industry competition level Competitive pressure from 0.15 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.03 0.06 0.09 0.06 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.06 customers Competitive pressure from suppliers Competitive pressure from potential rivals Total 6.1 6.28 6.27 5.97 Based on the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix above, our group has concluded the business strategies suitable for Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company Mobifone in the period 2012-2017 vision to 2020 are market development strategy and concentric diversification activities strategy 3.3 Solutions helping improve the efficiency of the implementation strategy of Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company Mobifone 3.3.1 Solutions on Human resource To maintain and promote the leading position in the context of fierce competition in the mobile market in Vietnam today, in addition to focus, improve product quality, VNPT should promote customer care service and develop human resource Specifically, Companies should pay attention to the following:  Notice to reasonable and effective employment, only hire those titles are really necessary, hiring the right people, arranging to position which are suitable for their capacity  Focus on new training and retraining  There is bonus policy, organize competitions inside Businesses to encourage employees to create, improve working efficiency  There are adequate remuneration and regularly honored activities to attract talents 47  Leaders need to build good relationships between employees, always listen to and overcome shortcomings from the opinions of staff Staff should be trained in all aspects:  Neat clothes, Businesses can making uniforms for employees of the Company, which has created a beautiful uniform and impressed in the minds of the customers if the costume is designed attaching with the Company's image  The attitude serving customers is dedicated; polite communication, courteous, always willing to listen and answer customers’ questions  There are professional qualifications 3.3.2 Complete the implementation of strategy  Complete organizational structure Organizational structure which is responsible for implementing the strategy must be more tightly organized through specific document that will define mechanisms and methods of coordination among departments The company should organize training to improve professional skills for staff, in addition, the Company should review the functions of the mission staff, reviews the activities of the committee and rearrange changes the number of employees  Assess and allocate resource rationally To ensure the implementation of the strategy, Mobifone should organize evaluation, resource mobilization This work is done by the Planning Committee coordinating with the other functions, mainly the financial and accounting Department When allocating resources, it must be based on the objectives, strategies and measures of short-term plans, operational plans of the Group The allocation of resources must be made through the text which is clear and publicly available for the strategic units  Implement strictly the inspection Inspection is an indispensable stage in the process of strategic business management Inspection is aimed to assess and overcome the distortions and weaknesses in the process of implementing strategy Depending on the scope and managing level of strategy, Mobifone chooses the different form of inspection 3.3.3 Solutions on Marketing 48 In market development strategy and Diversification strategy, especially the international market, the market research plays a crucial role Therefore, Mobifone needs to establish a market research team performing effectively, regularly organizes study tours to overseas markets in order to gather information necessary for market development Besides, Mobifone also need to set up a marketing team in charge of planning the marketing strategy for companies in emerging markets In addition, Marketing activity also plays an important role in the diversification strategy Consumer tastes have significant meaning to diversification strategy of the company, so understanding and grasp trends of consumer’s taste is the source of the research activities of product development and services associated with the current product and service which companies are offering on the market In solutions on Marketing activities, Mobifone also needs to pay attention to promotion and business support, particularly advertising, public relations and customer care 3.3.4 Solutions on capital One problem that any business that wants to develop its market in foreign countries has is the problem of capital So now, Mobifone need a careful plan about raising capital for market development The company may raise capital from various sources: Firstly, Mobifone is conducting equitization which is controversial in public opinion today, however this is a to-do list for Mobifone to be able to get enough capital to develop market, especially in foreign markets as well as research and develop new products Secondly is the mobilization of capital from the government Currently, the government has very open policies for mobile telecommunications companies, especially companies like Mobifone Last but not least, Mobifone also has capital from the mobilization of Posts and Telecommunications Group VNPT, Vietnam, the corporation where Mobifone is a member 3.3.5 Solutions on Technology In order to have good quality of services, VNPT needs to speed up the construction of BTS to extensive coverage, make software upgrades, broaden the 49 capacity of operator to reduce congestion switchboards in large cities, quick fix incidents on the network, especially in rush hours In addition, there is also need to perform regular maintenance as well as invest in development of modern technical systems to allow the application of new technology products, increase density of 3G broadcast stations, focus on exploiting and develop rapidly of 4G broadcast stations 3.4 Evaluation corporate-level strategy of Vietnam Mobile Services Company Mobifone According to the General Statistics Office, with a population of about 87 million but the number of telephone subscribers nationwide, by the end of July of 2011, was estimated at 128.1 million (up 4.3% over the same period in 2010), including 15.5 million subscribers of fixed phone and 112.6 million mobile subscribers Recently, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has announced the density of mobile phone subscribers in Vietnam which is just less than that in seven countries and territories including Macao, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Montenegro, Panama, Bermuda and Ireland One of noteworthy points is that Vietnam is far beyond many other countries as telecom density (percentage of mobile subscribers per total population) increased from 87% in 2009 up 175% in 2010 Meanwhile, the average telecom density of developing countries is only about 70% and that of the developed countries is just 114% Looking at the numbers above, it can be seen that the fact a country with more than 86 million people reaches the mobile subscriber density at such high levels also means that the number of new subscribers will slow down This fact poses new challenges for Mobifone to develop and maintain its position in the fiercely competitive environment today Market development strategy and diversification strategy of Mobifone is a correct direction when the mobile telecommunications market in the country is gradually saturated However, in order to implement these strategies effectively and achieve "the market for 200 million people in 2020", Mobifone need to build the detailed projects to the Ministry of Information and Government These are long-term strategies of the company; therefore, in each implementation phase Mobifone should focus the inspection and assessment strategies to make 50 adjustments in time Besides, Mobifone needs to promote the gathering and processing information from multiple levels For the domestic mobile telecommunications market, Mobifone needs to maintain its position as the telecommunication network having the best quality and customer care service through concentric diversification strategy Accordingly, it is necessary for MobiFone to invest more heavily in information infrastructure of customer service by giving customers more options in contact forms, finding out information through the channel system advices, answering questions In addition to the agents and directly advisory support transactions, the customers of MobiFone can call 18001090 autoresponder, or the hotline number 9244 or 144 Besides, MobiFone also opens channels to receive information and answer via e-mail and online chat tools at web www.mobifone.com.vn Moreover, in the concentric diversification strategy, Mobifone should focus on further promoting the value-added services applied on mobile phones, and strengthening the quality of existing products Being aware of the fact that the domestic market has reached saturation in terms of subscribers, the networks in Vietnam are seeking ways to develop international markets, this is inevitable trend for businesses to continue to develop and expand, and Mobifone is no exception Although the world economy has been more volatile recently, investing in the search for new markets is very difficult and challenging but this is something that Mobifone need to implement as soon as possible Leading in this trend is Viettel mobile telecommunications network In 2007, Viettel established Viettel International Investment joint stock Company (Viettel Global) with a capital of 3,000 billion VND to boost foreign investment Then, in February 2009, Viettel officially opened its mobile network in Cambodia with Metfone brand after more than a year and a half building the network infrastructure More than eight months later, again Viettel mobile network launched a new mobile network called Unitel in Laos In April 2010, this Group completed $ 59 million USD investment in acquiring 70% stake in Teleco Telecom Company in Haiti In the quarter II/2011, Viettel officially provided mobile telecommunications services in this market In 2010, Viettel invested $ 300 million USD in acquisition of more than 60% of the shares of a 51 company managing Teletalk mobile network of Bangladesh In early November 2010, Movitel, a unit of Viettel jointed venture with Mozambique investors group, won the contract to provide mobile services here As planned in the next years, Movitel will invest over 400 million USD in this East African country with a commitment to provide services to approximately 85% of the population So far, the two mobile networks of Viettel in Laos and Cambodia have jumped to be the leading in network infrastructure and No of subscribers (6 million and 1.5 million) In 2010, total revenues from investment projects overseas of Viettel reached 4,285 billion VND and profits of 652 billion VND The results that Viettel achieved above can be considered as the initial successes of a promising strategy to foreign markets Mobifone can learn the valuable experiences of Viettel in finding and researching their potential markets In addition, company can participate in one of the potential markets where Viettel is operating, notably Bangladesh market From the collected information, the leaders analyze and evaluate the progress of the strategic situation of the environment from which to review and adjust strategies Annually, the Company adjusts targets and implementation strategies by the annually strategic plan and implementing adjustment charges and researches to improve the financial management mechanism 3.5 Some recommendations to Mobifone 3.5.1 Conducting equitization as soon as possible In fact, equitization plan of Mobifone approved in 2006 but so far, this project has been progressed very slowly for many reasons One of the reasons is that Mobifone is the first enterprise in the field of mobile telecommunications in Vietnam to conduct equitization, moreover, it is a big business, so the valuation of assets is a relatively difficult problem, in addition, the stock market in Vietnam in recent years have had many negatively changes which affect badly the valuation of Mobifone’s stocks when conducting the Initial public offering (IPO) With the effective business situation during the operation, MobiFone shares can not be sold at low prices, as this will cause loss of state assets, and negatively affect the images after equitization of 52 Enterprise Conversely, if selling at high price to the value of MobiFone, the IPO will hardly succeed in the context of stock market decline deeply as the current Decree 25/2011/ND-CP of the Prime Minister, came in force from / 6, states that an organization or individual owning more than 20% of charter capital or shares in an enterprise shall not be allowed to own over 20% of charter capital or shares of other telecommunications companies with business in a market of telecommunications services This new rule requires VNPT to choose, either to merge the two operators Mobifone and VinaPhone or to conduct equitization one of the networks (but not own more than 20% of charter capital or shares) However, in the context of the mobile telecommunications market Vietnam as the current, the merge of Mobifone and Vinaphone will create a strongly monopoly situation on the telecommunications market and not create incentives to improve the competitiveness of the mobile networks Thus, according to our group, the equitization Mobifone is the best solution and beneficial to the State and enterprises The equitisation will help MobiFone more active when making their business decisions Additionally, the equitization of telecommunications enterprises, the state of information technology will certainly attract many corporations, large companies in the world which are looking to invest in telecommunications, technology information in Vietnam, which will attract, approach techniques, technologies, methods, and management experience to create premises for promoting Vietnam soon become strong in information technology - communication In addition, MobiFone will also be identified to participate in the international market so it should be a need of finding a good strategic partner which is not only strong in capital and technology but also includes management experience in the process of equitization of enterprise 3.5.2 Quickly orient and research international markets Within the context of capstone project and base on the findings from the researches which our group did, the group would make recommendations for Mobifone to choose Bangladesh as the target market in foreign markets development strategy because of the following reasons: 53 - The People's Republic of Bangladesh is a small country with a geographical area of 55,598 square miles and population of approximately 164 million in November, 2010 The country has undergone substantial political instability due to which the economic development has suffered However, the economy of the country is now developing with a steady GDP growth rate It was estimated to be 5.83 per cent for the year 2010 In spite of the country's 40 per cent population being poor, the country has come a long way since its independence, with the per capita income being close to USD 700 in 2010 - The government of the country is determined to build Bangladesh as an economically much better country by 2021, due to which they have started the Digital Bangladesh project This project is put into action to achieve economic independence for Bangladesh It includes the development of the ICT sector of the country and its implementation in sectors such as education, health and job placements Due to all these actions taken by the government of Bangladesh, the country has attracted a lot of international mobile players The country realizes the importance of development of the telecom industry and hence, is encouraging foreign mobile companies to operate in the country - The infrastructure and Tele-density is low which makes the market in Bangladesh a perfect place for telecom business The demand is very high and the consumer base is very large The government has a receptive foreign investment policy with no restrictions on repatriation of profit Even though the current infrastructure is not much developed but it is suitable for foreign investment - The mobile penetration rate of the country is considerably low as compared to the neighboring countries such as India; it was close to 39.6 per cent in November 20102 The fixed line and internet service penetration in the country is even lower as compared to the mobile penetration rate - Current market size: Consumer demand in Bangladesh makes the mobile market one of the fastest growing markets in the world The Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) is the main operator of telephone services in Bangladesh and has until recently maintained a monopoly position on domestic (terrestrial) and satellites, with all international dialing being retained as a Government monopoly 54 However, there is a lot of potential for growth of the telecom industry in Bangladesh, particularly in terms of mobile subscribers Currently, there are mobile operators in Bangladesh There are namely: + Grameenphone – Joint venture (62%) with a Norwegian company Telenor (Grameenphone n.d) + Banglalink – Joint venture with Orascom originated from Egypt (Banglalink n.d) + Aktel – Joint venture between Telecom Malaysia Berhad TM and A K Khan & company limited (Aktel n.d) + Waried Telecom – An investment of Dubai and Abu Dhabi Group UAE (Waried n.d) + TeleTalk – Public limited company but 100% share have been owned by the government of Bangladesh (Teletalk n.d) + Citycell – Joint venture with SingTel Asia pacific investment Pte limited (Citycell n.d) - The mobile subscribers' number reached 76.434 million in June, 2011 with Grameenphone having the highest market share of 33.824 million subscribers More and more multinational companies are investing in the country to tap the growing market However, these are only preliminary understanding of our group about Bangladesh market and we identify that is a potential market which should be directed by Mobifone, in order to invest in foreign markets conveniently and effectively Mobifone need to make a careful and detailed plan for market research 55 CONCLUSION Mobile information service is one of the leading sectors about growth in the telecommunications industry The competition between mobile networks becomes more powerful, moving from competition by charges to other value-added services, competition in the forms of customer care Therefore, the mobile companies need to set up their own business strategies consistent with the new development trend of the market Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company Mobifone has been aware of the important role of enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises through the right strategies In the period of 2012-2017 vision to 2020, Mobifone has selected strategic market development and concentric diversification strategy, especially directing to foreign markets in order to achieve long-term goal as to service a market of 200 million people and become one of top ten mobile telecommunications companies in Asia in 2020 This is a big ambition of Mobifone but it does not mean that it can not be done, for this strategy into practice, it is necessary for Mobifone to combine solutions from solutions on human, capital to solutions on technology Mobifone also needs to assess the real status of development of their enterprises on the basis of analysis of the weaknesses, the factors, as well as promote its advantages, which provides appropriate business strategy in order to help the Company stand on the market Last but not least, the thing that Mobifone should as soon as possible now is conducting Equitization Because Mobifone is a large enterprise and the first business in mobile telecommunications sector conducting equitization, the equitization should be monitored carefully and closely conducted by the Government That is one of favorable conditions for Mobifone to develop stably not only in the domestic market but also reach out of national border to compete internationally In the framework of the subject, because of the wide range of research and covers, our group is not ambitious to make highly and fully specific solutions but just want to raise ideas for further research 56 REFERENCES Duong Ngoc Dung (2006), Competition strategy on theories of Michael Porter, Ho Chi Minh Publisher, Ho Chi Minh City Pham Thuy Hong (2004), Competition strategy for small and medium enterprises in Vietnam today, The National Political Publisher, Hanoi Bui Quoc Viet (2002), Marketing mobile telecommunications services in integration and competition, Post and Telecommunications Publishing House, Hanoi Nguyen Xuan Vinh, Mai The Nhuong, Tran Thi Hong Van (2004), Strategy succeed in the competitive telecommunications market, Post and Telecommunications Publishing House, Hanoi Pham Thi Kim Tuyet Loan, Improving the competitiveness of Vietnam's telecommunications sector in the process of global economic integration, National University of Ho Chi Minh City The websites: - http://mobifone.com.vn - http://www.tapchibcvt.gov.vn/News/PrintView.aspx?ID=21796 - http://mic.gov.vn/solieuthongke/vt/Trang/default.aspx - http://baobuudien.vn/Home/vien-thong/MobiFone-xep-so-1-ve-muc-do-ua- thich-va-mong-muon-su-dung/2010/03/1SVCM525447/View.htm 57 ... The providers of financial and banking services, including: Bank of East Asia (SeaBank), Vietcombank, 2.2.2.2 Present competitors Before July of 2003, telecommunications services market in Vietnam