Accessing the internet via mobile phone. About 50 per cent of internet page views in Viet Nam will go to mobile by 2014. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Tu

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— As much as 50 per cent of internet page viewing in Viet Nam will go to mobile by the second half of 2014, according to a report by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Among the 130 million mobile phone subscribers in the country, approximately 20 million are using smartphones which can connect to the internet via 3G technology.

In terms of smartphone growth, Viet Nam is the second fastest growing in the world, right after China.

Information and Communications Deputy Minister Le Nam Thang said the number of smartphone users will continue to go up due to the increasing affordability and popularity of the phones.

"Producers are introducing more budget prices smartphones, which help more people to get access to the benefit of 3G," Thang said.

Nguyen The Tan, Deputy General Director of VCCorp, the largest mobile marketing firm in Viet Nam, said this trend will continue to open up opportunities for companies looking to capitalise on mobile marketing.

"In fact, many people have now changed from reading web content on a PC to a mobile device, and the percentage of page views split between web view and mobile view is heading towards 1/1", he said.

Last year many famous brands successfully carried out mobile advertising campaigns. Coca Cola's mobile advertising campaign attracted 76,000 view clicks and 34,300 download clicks.

While, Starbucks' mobile marketing campaign has on average 2.1 million clicks per day.

According to the IDC, Viet Nam's smartphone sales totaled around four million units last year and are projected to hit well over six million in 2013.

Meanwhile, there are about nine to ten million Android mobile devices in the country. — VNS