In the field of software export, FPT took 24 years to reach 1 billion USD in revenue from the international market. Mr. Binh is pushing for FPT to have 5 billion USD in revenue from the international market by 2030. Tuoi Tre Xuan had a conversation with Mr. Truong Gia Binh.
* The 4th industrial revolution is surprising humanity with the remarkable progress of AI, semiconductor industry... How do you evaluate the opportunities for Vietnam in the current context?
- The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also witnessed a global chip crisis. Since then, the US Semiconductor Association has created the CHIPS and Science Act to find allies in the industry in case of a geopolitical crisis.
They have chosen Vietnam as one of the countries to participate in production. India has been chosen for design. Vietnam can participate fully from design, production to packaging.
Source: Vietnam Microchip Community, Vietnam semiconductor industry development strategy to 2030 and vision to 2050.
* According to you, what are the key factors that make Vietnam a good choice as an "ally" in the semiconductor industry?
- Factor number 1 is geopolitics. People will ask the question: Is Vietnam friendly with all countries in the world and friendly in the long term?
Factor number 2 answers the question: where is the electronics manufacturing center located? In the current new geopolitical context, Vietnam is located in the electronics industrial ecosystem.
For example, we can package and test finished chips, or Vietnam accounts for nearly half of the world's phone assembly output...
The third factor is that Vietnam now has a relative presence of semiconductor companies in the world.
Chip products of a Vietnamese enterprise on display - Photo: D. THIEN
The fourth factor is abundant human resources to enter the industry. Currently, Korea and Taiwan are building many new generation semiconductor factories with new technology to keep technology secret but do not have abundant human resources.
Speaking of human resources, we have to talk about training, research and development… Vietnam has a lot of potential in this area.
It can be said that Vietnam's position and strength in the field of foreign economic diplomacy now lies in its people, not in its land and cheap labor. Vietnam's future position in the world lies in its high-quality human resources.
Another very important factor is the Government's commitment to attracting investment in the development of the semiconductor industry.
No other country has made such strong commitments as Vietnam. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed a decision to establish the National Steering Committee for Semiconductor Industry Development to promote the development of the semiconductor industry in Vietnam.
* The advantages are there, but the challenge of high-quality human resources, especially in the semiconductor industry, is not small?
- We currently have 5,000 people working in the semiconductor industry. This is a very valuable but too small human resource.
Speaking of training, we are lacking from teachers to labs - like a miniature factory, which plays a very important role in training personnel to produce simple chip tests.
To develop education and training, we must cooperate internationally. For example, in the current training of semiconductor human resources, students only study a part in the country, then go to Taiwan, Korea, Japan to study the final year to practice and then go to the factory there to work.
We have met with many universities and factories in Korea, Japan, Taiwan... During the cooperation exchange process, there were many commitments with FPT that the newly built factories will be operated by Vietnamese people with FPT providing human resources.
FPT leaders and employees at FPT office in Slovakia - Photo: PT
* We still have a lot of work to do, but what makes you believe that Vietnam has the opportunity to develop the semiconductor industry?
- If we look back at history, all of humanity's progress, even in wars, was preceded by technological development.
In the three previous scientific and technological revolutions, Vietnamese people did not have an advantage, but with the current technology industry, it is a great opportunity for us and Asian countries, which I often call "chopstick countries".
Looking back at the history of the semiconductor industry, the Americans started it all, but the "heroes" who came after came from Asia. Specifically, the forces working in the semiconductor industry today all have "chopstick-using" cultural origins such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam.
Vietnam was ranked number 1 by the US Semiconductor Association, not by Vietnam itself. Vietnam's biggest advantage is its human resources. The semiconductor industry is both science and industry.
Going with the brand: Mr. Truong Gia Binh and his belief in Vietnam's fortunes in the new era
Industry needs human resources and in Vietnam they are bachelors, masters, doctors… who come from lands with many hardships and a desire to change. When people want to do something great, they can work hard day and night.
The above qualities are abundant in Vietnamese people but are difficult to find in such large quantities in many other countries.
* Recently, some technology group leaders came to Vietnam and then decided to invest in other countries. Is our current investment attraction policy attractive enough?
- That's a big problem, look at countries like Singapore, Japan, Korea, China... not to mention semiconductors or AI, high-tech investment enterprises are supported with 50% of the cost.
For example, if you hire an employee with a salary of 100,000 USD/year, they will pay 50,000 USD to the investor.
Of course, we still have ways if all parties are really determined to do it. For example, at FPT, there are many ways to attract talent, attract investment, and in fact, we have invited many big technology leaders to come to Vietnam to learn and cooperate.
Experience FPT's digital car technology - Photo: D.T
* Over the past two years, FPT has achieved impressive growth figures, including the milestone of 1 billion USD in revenue from software exports. How did you feel at that moment?
- Before talking about the number 1 billion USD, I would like to share the greatest emotion when reaching the first 1 million USD. For us at that time, the dream of Vietnamese intelligence expanding its territory and making its name on the world map gradually became a reality.
Before that, I told a famous computer manufacturer in the world: "I'm telling the truth! If you buy 1 dollar of software from me, I will buy 1,000 dollars of machinery for you". The "exchange" ratio of 1 to 1,000 at that time showed how big my ambition was.
Then there were times when I was so happy that my legs trembled when I walked out of the office of the Net Company (Japan) because I thought they would order it but in the end they didn't... so the feeling when I reached 1 million USD in revenue was so great!
Reaching the 1 billion USD mark, because it was planned in advance, there was nothing to be surprised about when reaching this milestone.
But I was startled when I heard the person known as the "father" of the Indian information technology (IT) industry, billionaire Narayana Murthy - founder of Infosys, currently one of the leading technology enterprises in India - comment that by going out into the world from IT services, India and Vietnam have a leading position on the world's IT services map. That is a great thing because our Vietnam is highly appreciated.
* Returning to FPT, how long do you think it will take for the $1 billion in software exports to double?
- It took FPT 24 years to reach 1 billion USD in revenue from the international market. FPT's normal growth rate in recent years is 20%.
However, when visiting FPT in Vietnam, billionaire Narayana Murthy said that his company Infosys (founded in 1981 - pv) took 23 years to reach its first $1 billion in revenue, 23 months later the second billion, and 11 months later the third billion.
Mr. Narayana Murthy predicted that if FPT took 24 years to reach the billion dollar revenue milestone, it would only take another 24 months to reach the next 2 billion dollars and after about 12 months it would reach 3 billion dollars.
The $1 billion milestone is like a tipping point, that is, the point of explosion and from there revenue "raises its head" and increases rapidly.
Because when your company reaches 1 billion dollars in software service revenue, people will no longer ask about your position, but usually at that time, whatever you say, people will believe and be willing to cooperate. FPT is doing it in practice and can feel that.
* Export revenue of 1 billion USD is extremely difficult for a business, and even more difficult for the software industry. For FPT, what is the lesson learned from this success? What is the role of a leader and how do you inspire your team at FPT?
- When wanting to "expand the intellectual territory of Vietnam", FPT determined that its internal strength was still very weak while its opponents were very strong. Our ancestors from the past used the weak to fight the strong, the few to fight the many. So what is the quintessential lesson here? We have read and researched a lot about people's war, even met with generals...
And I think that to inspire, a general must take the lead. The courage of a leader is not in words but in action, in the most turbulent places, burning himself up. That is the example for his teammates to follow.
In 2011, when the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, the Japanese market was our big hope. But most foreigners flew out of Japan to return home.
Three days after it happened, I was in Japan. I was probably the only foreigner flying back to Japan.
Before that, the secretaries said that the radiation had increased more than 200 times, and that going would mean death. I replied: "You still have to go". I went to visit my team, my partners, and find a way to overcome the difficulties together.
The way to inspire here is to convey the spirit: why do I have to do this? I have to do this because I want to contribute more, my business to develop, I want the country to escape poverty and move forward…
A company asked me how to sell software to foreign companies. I said: the head of the organization must "stand on the street" to sell.
Why? Because when we first started, Vietnam was not on the world software map, so customers were hesitant to cooperate, even though we had staff who had worked for American companies before.
We just made a small mistake and lost our job. In that context, only the head of the partner company can decide to cooperate with the Vietnamese company.
Selling is very difficult because the heads of large foreign corporations often do not have time. I only have the opportunity to meet and convince them once.
It is very important to prepare carefully and understand the customer. Many leaders in successful companies no longer go to sell, but at FPT everyone has to do it, all leaders have to go to sell. It is a responsibility for the organization.
Mr. Truong Gia Binh - Chairman of FPT and Mr. Tran Xuan Toan - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper - at the Japanese garden on the FPT headquarters tower. Photo: N.TRAN
* What has kept your entrepreneurial spirit burning for so many years?
- Who would have thought that the chip manufacturing "empire" Intel could face such difficulties today. Other famous names like Kodak, Nokia are no more...
On the other hand, Microsoft once had the grand dream of having a computer on every desk, but now they are leading the way in cloud computing and AI. So, it can be said that whether or not a company disappears depends on its entrepreneurial spirit.
Any successful company has to keep starting up. That means you are successful in this field but the wave goes up and then it goes down. Then you have to push another wave up to surpass the previous peak. And then it goes down, you continue to push another wave…
Currently at FPT, there are countless startup projects being proposed every week. We constantly discuss how to do this and that new thing.
Technology and the market change rapidly, we also have to start up continuously. I really hope that Vietnamese businesses keep the entrepreneurial blood in them continuously, continuously without rest.
Employees of all skin colors at FPT's working area in Hanoi - Photo: PT
* How have you prepared for the successor leadership team at FPT?
- FPT has been planning for generational transfer since 18 years ago. Most of the first generation (founding board) of FPT have retired. As for the second generation, the 7X - 8X generation are leaders.
It is normal for them to command units of several thousand men, while the previous generation of leaders only commanded a few hundred men. In terms of work, we are small compared to you.
Personally, when I like, I can leave the job open without asking, you guys still do well. That is, in fact, the younger generation has been and is operating the FPT machine.
So the question is, is it perfect? The answer is that there is no such thing as perfection in life, only progress. So what else do you want? I want the most strategic thinking from young people. They must see the forest, not just the trees.
Performed by: XUAN TOAN - DUC THIEN
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