FPT contributes significantly to Vietnam's growth: expert

Murthy, who is considered "India's Bill Gates," and Truong Gia Binh, Chairman of FPT, had a talk at F-Ville 3, Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, on Monday.

The event was part of Murthy's series of visits and working activities in Vietnam from May 19–23.

At the event, Murthy assessed Vietnam as the only country in Southeast Asia that can create a software service business like FPT.

According to him, FPT and Vietnam in general are unique.

In the early years of its establishment, FPT's founders encountered many difficulties.

However, thanks to great leadership as well as a little luck, the group has risen and achieved many successes.

He believes that FPT and Vietnam have no rivals; and that no other country can be so brave and aspirational.

"With current resources and luck, FPT will reach the milestone of US$2 billion in IT service revenue from foreign markets, faster than the first milestone of US$1 billion," he said.

He also pointed out that Infosys took 23 years, from 1981 to 2004, to reach the first milestone, 23 months to reach US$2 billion, and 11 months to reach US$3 billion.

"I have great confidence in FPT and Vietnam. No other country can match the courage and ambition you have shown. I believe that if Infosys can do it, Vietnam and FPT can do it too. I believe that FPT is and will contribute significantly to Vietnam's future growth," he said.

In 2023, after 24 years of globalization, FPT reached the milestone of $1 billion in IT service revenue from foreign markets.

The group, for the first time, has a customer with a sales scale of over US$200 million.

This customer, headquartered in the US, is the only company in the world that provides a full set of solutions for auto distributors, such as inventory, marketing, sales, after-sales, and operations.

Narayana Murthy (L) and Truong Gia Binhshared many common perspectives on business leadership at a meeting on May 20, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

The Indian billionaire shared the secret to successfully starting a business, as well as his business leadership experience.

He said that the idea of starting a business started with the desire to eradicate poverty in his hometown.

After spending some time in France, he returned to India to establish a business. However, his first attempt failed because he forgot one of the most important principles of market assessment.

In 1981, he was determined to start again, establishing Infosys with a capital of US$250 targeting the software services market, the one that, according to him, would have great demand to realize his dream of creating jobs and solving poverty problems in India.

Murthy said that Infosys and FPT have something in common as they are both startups, dreamers, and working hard to turn that idea into reality.

"Robert Kennedy once said that most people see things as they are and wonder why, but I dream of things that never were and say, why not?" Murthy said.

Sharing the secret to successful business leadership, he said that, at work, leaders and employees are not friends, not until they leave the office.

"Respect from customers will help businesses achieve high profits, and with trust from customers, the company will attract employees from other businesses," he said.

"If you want to invest in the long term, businesses need to achieve this."

He added that if people who do business want the government's trust, they must also become one of the most respected businesses.

From Infosys's practical experience, Murthy concluded that to be successful, businesses need to ensure three important factors: sales, financial control, and human resources.

"If we cannot sell products, the company will have no revenue. Without revenue, the company cannot operate," he said.

When there is revenue, it must be ensured that all costs are controlled.

In fact, many corporations are profitable, but costs increase, and losses lead to losses. The leader said that financial control plays an important role. They must ensure costs are adequate and justified in accordance with business activities; in addition, they must always be less than revenue.

Narayana Murthy pointed out that businesses must ensure costs are adequate and justified in accordance with business activities. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Murthy believes that businesses also need to create favorable conditions and empower employees to feel happy by giving them freedom, evaluating them, rewarding them, and retaining them.

"My experience is that money is not the most important thing, but human resources want respect and appreciation for their abilities," he said.

Murthy is an information technology legend and was compared to India's Bill Gates when he took Infosys from an unknown company into a symbol of the country's software industry.

In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian company listed on the US Nasdaq.

In 2023, it achieved revenue of over US$18 billion, had 320,00 employees, was present in 50 countries globally, and had a market value of over US$70 billion.

According to Forbes' 2023 statistics, Murthy owns assets worth $US4.1 billion, ranking 711th among the richest people on the planet.