Bitel is Viettel's brand name in Peru. The group's participation in Peru market makes Viet Nam the second biggest mobile phone providers in the Southern American country. – Photo Netviettel

HA NOI (Biz Hub) – Statistics from the Foreign Trade Center (CCEX) of the Chamber of Commerce of Lima, Peru, show that the country's second-largest mobile phone service provider in 2014 was Vietnamese.

The position was gained after Viet Nam's military-run telecommunications group Viettel joined the telecommunications market in Peru, reported business news site Cafebiz.

Last year, mobile phone exports from Viet Nam to Peru reached a value of US$55 million, a sharp increase compared with the $5 million earned in 2013 and accounting for five per cent of the total value of mobile phones imported by Peru.

CCEX also pointed out that Peru had imported 12.7 million cell phones, worth more than $1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 31 per cent.

In 2011, Viettel was awarded a business licence to provide mobile phone services on the 1.900Mhz band in Peru and was permitted to provide services on the 900Mhz band one year later.

Last October, Viettel launched its service under the brand name "Bitel."

Peru is the fifth foreign market entered by Viettel after Cambodia, Laos, Haiti and Mozambique. – VNS