Vietnamese's brainpower and brainwork made a mark on the international stage

Successfully signing a 1-billion-dollar deal with an international customer; putting Vietnam on the global semiconductor supply chain; being the first educational organization to build an AI curriculum for high school students;... FPT Corporation is making unremitting efforts to bring the intelligence and brainwork of Vietnamese people to reach out to the world.

Having a short conversation with VGP News's reporter, FPT CEO Nguyen Van Khoa revealed several business results, challenges, orientations, and recommendations on behalf of a Vietnamese tech giant.

"Reap good gains" in the turbulent circumstance

Could you please share some highlights and achievements of FPT Corporation recently?

Mr.Nguyen Van Khoa: It must be said that 2022 was indeed a challenging year for companies due to constant fluctuations. The market situation ceaselessly changes, even on a daily basis. FPT Corporation strived hard to promote networking activities as many countries/territories were restricted due to COVID-19, including immigration support, hosting coordination sessions with large corporations, and offering digital transformation solutions.

With its endeavors and determination, FPT has "reaped good gains". First of all, we achieved the milestone of 60,000 staff. Interestingly, our 60,000th employee is a Japanese software engineer.
Secondly, we made a great deal worth 1 billion dollar in an overseas market. It was one of our significant highlights in 2022, proving that Vietnamese brainwork has made an impressive footprint in the international arena. Under complicated circumstances in 2022, FPT, along with other Vietnamese enterprises, surpassed some Big Tech from India, Europe, etc., to win large contracts for Vietnam.

In addition, FPT's domestic revenue from the technology sector also reached USD 1 billion. Those results have contributed significantly to FPT's exceptional development in 2022, which means a 23.4% increase in revenue and a 20.8% growth in profit compared to the same period in 2021.

Another bright point is that FPT has reached 200 "Make-in-Vietnam" products, many of which are recognized and used globally.

Well, we've talked a lot about digital transformation over the years. For businesses, it should result in an earnings boost. FPT's digital transformation revenue reached VND 7,000 billion in 2022. It's not merely a business figure, let me tell you. The overall positive result is that domestic and international dynamics have created a vast digital transformation market.

Numerous Vietnamese companies, especially state-owned enterprises, such as the Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation, obtained digital transformation certificates from the Ministry of Information and Communications last year. It proves that besides non-state entities, state-owned companies are also rebuilding toward digital transformation.

In times of difficulty, our inner strength and resilience are much tougher. Businesses are gradually catching up with digital transformation.

Being determined to find "opportunity" inside "danger"

In the first days of 2023 - a year that is shaping up to be full of challenges and opportunities, please give some words about FPT's orientations and plans for this fiscal year.

Mr.Nguyen Van Khoa: Let me clarify the keyword of "foundation". In 2022, FPT contributed to putting Vietnam on the global semiconductor supply chain. It's like a big hit as we launched the first line of microchips used in the medical field. We expect to deliver about 25 million of these chips globally in the short coming time.

In addition, FPT signed cooperation agreements with 25 provinces and cities to accelerate digital transformation. Besides, we have more than 100,000 students in our educational system. From my point of view, these are vital "foundations" for FPT in 2023, as we are trying hard to accumulate all possible resources.

In particular, while observing the market in 2023, we have identified a considerable number of domestic and international complications. Although, we will definitely find out the "opportunity" in the "danger".

What are those opportunities? First, digital transformation will play a leading role in every country. Data becomes a key factor determining the success or failure of digital transformation. Customer behaviors also affect the outcomes. And whether the results are beneficial or not depends on how they are put into use. FPT has its own methodologies to ensure the success of the digital transformation process.

Second, it is the opportunity of achieving a global presence. Large corporations are considering Vietnam as a bright spot for not only attracting investment but also going global. FPT is one of the few Vietnamese corporations investing firmly in overseas markets, focusing on brainpower and technology.

With the solid foundation of our educational system, enormous human resources are being nurtured. In particular, we signed with IPP Group to become the first organization to build an artificial intelligence (AI) curriculum for high school students in Vietnam. As a result, FPT's students will get familiar with AI and programming languages from the primary level.

Science and technology will be the growth motivation for Vietnam. Our 2023 opportunities come from both domestic and foreign markets. Domestically, FPT will boost digital transformation, enrich and extend the data and promote IT systems to support enterprises. There's a high demand for human resources in foreign markets, so we are attracting workers from India and Eastern Europe to meet the needs.

In addition, we are establishing hi-tech parks across the country, especially from the South Central Coast to the Southern provinces, to bring the international workforce to Vietnam.

The Vietnamese technology community needs "big problems"

While digital transformation is identified as the heart of the national development strategy, what do you suggest as the CEO of the leading technology corporation in Vietnam?

Mr.Nguyen Van Khoa: I hope the Government will pay more attention to the information technology (IT) community. There are so many tech giants in developed countries. FPT has been doing technology in its own way for 35 years. In diplomatic activities with major economies and regional countries, the Government should give more room for the Vietnamese technology community to reach out to the world and bring values and experiences back to our country.

Next, Government leaders should come up with practical solutions to promote transformation in both public and private sectors. So the question is how to accelerate it. It is necessary to give "big problems" to Vietnam's businesses, such as FPT and others, to join hands to find solutions.

In addition, even standards need to be standardized. Finally, the overall mindset needs to be applied thoroughly as the lack of synchronization in technology infrastructure will cost much and be an obstacle while connecting to government systems. Training and attracting high-quality human resources must also be in focus.

Source: VGP News.