Speaking at the Nikkei Global Management Forum in Tokyo, Japan on November 13th, FPT Chairman Truong Gia Binh mentioned the global digital shift as an opportunity for ASEAN. He said with a population of roughly 600 million, ASEAN can become the world’s most competitive economy by leveraging the power of digitalization.
To take advantage of the technological changes, Binh called for sharing digital platforms and the free flow of labor, capital, resources, goods and services within ASEAN Economic Community — a common market to take effect at the end of the year. Making the AEC work effectively, however, will be a big challenge, he cautioned.
According to Nikkei’s comment, although freer trade within the region will speed growth, it will also bring challenges for Vietnam, as the country will have to find a way to retain skilled workers whose wages are lower than their counterparts elsewhere. On this matter, Mr. Truong Gia Binh asserted that FPT has been accelerating the digital transformation in Vietnam and other ASEAN countries, offering digital platforms for the Internet of Things and other Internet tools. It is working to develop young talent, which Binh calls the company’s “the engine for growth.” By 2020, FPT aims to train 10,000 Vietnamese system engineers, sending them to Japan for six months.
The company aims to remain a leading IT company in Southeast Asia, targeting annual growth of 30% over the next 15 years, Mr. Binh said.
The 17th Nikkei Global Management Forum is hosted by Nikkei, IMD and Harvard Business School. The two-day symposium brings CEOs from leading companies together to share their ideas on the theme of “Resilient Leadership — Making the Next Leap Forward.”