At the working session with the Military Industry - Telecommunications Group (Viettel Group) on the afternoon of July 19, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung suggested the development direction for this leading group as well as telecommunications enterprises in the next 10 years. VietNamNet respectfully introduces the full text of the speech.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung: "Industry and technology will be Viettel's greatest contribution to the country, and will have to become Viettel's largest business segment."

Viettel was born in hardship, grew up in hardship, succeeded and became excellent thanks to hardship, thanks to the spirit of serving the Fatherland, thanks to the commitment to new lands, thanks to the readiness to accept strategic tasks assigned by the Party, the State and the army. Viettel will become an average company if it does not continue to face new challenges, if it does not create new challenges for itself, if it does not continue to accept new strategic tasks of the country. An average company without a national strategic task should not be a state-owned enterprise. When doing telecommunications, Viettel set and achieved the goal of universalizing a mobile phone for every Vietnamese person. When investing abroad in telecommunications, Viettel entered the top 20 leading enterprises in the world in telecommunications investment, on par with developed countries. When doing information technology (IT), Viettel changed this field from investment to renting IT services. When doing high-tech industry, Viettel has inspired the entire Vietnamese business community: Vietnam can master, can research and produce high-tech equipment (such as 4G/5G equipment), can do high-tech defense industry (such as high-tech weapons).

Vietnam will have modern 5G and cloud computing infrastructure, among the top 50 leading countries by 2025.

Viettel has led the movement of Vietnamese enterprises after being successful in the fields of trade, services, banking, real estate, then switching to industry and technology. Many enterprises have followed. Many enterprises have changed their strategy from commercial enterprises to commercial - service - industrial and technology enterprises. That is, going from the top down. From standing on the shoulders of giants to letting others stand on their shoulders. And that is how it is sustainable. When it comes to network safety and security, Viettel has achieved a high international ranking, contributing to Vietnam entering the top 30 in the world, mastering over 95% of network safety and security products and moving towards becoming a superpower in network safety and security to protect Vietnam's prosperity in cyberspace. But in recent years, Viettel has been slowing down. Both revenue and profit growth are lower than the country's GDP growth. New spaces have not been opened strongly. The main space is telecommunications, so growth is low. Spaces outside of telecommunications have opened up, but growth has not been fast enough, and action has not been drastic enough to turn them into mainstream spaces.
Vietnam's digital infrastructure includes telecommunications infrastructure, data infrastructure, technology infrastructure as services and digital platforms of infrastructure nature. Minister Nguyen Manh Hung
The Ministry of Information and Communications' orientation on digital infrastructure is as follows. Vietnam's digital infrastructure includes telecommunications infrastructure, data infrastructure, technology infrastructure as services and digital platforms of infrastructure nature. Vietnam's digital infrastructure must have super-large capacity, super-wide bandwidth, be universal, sustainable, green, smart, open and secure. This infrastructure must be prioritized for investment, modernization and be one step ahead to promote national digital transformation, develop the digital economy , digital society and digital citizens. 2023 is the year of commercialization of 5G and cloud computing. 5G and cloud computing are two of the most important components of digital infrastructure. Both of these infrastructures will be strongly deployed from this year, so that by 2025, Vietnam will have modern 5G and cloud computing infrastructure, among the top 50 leading countries. The Ministry of Information and Communications has oriented 5 new spaces that will be equivalent in scale to telecommunications by 2025 and will surpass telecommunications by 2030. These will be Viettel's main growth spaces in the next 10 years. First is cloud computing. Cloud computing will be the main component of digital infrastructure, with a growth rate of 20-25%/year. Every 3 years, data doubles. Big data and big data processing will be the largest industry. Cloud computing infrastructure will determine how Vietnamese data will be stored and processed in Vietnam. Viettel's investment in cloud computing must be equivalent to its investment in telecommunications, but currently it is only 5-10% of telecommunications. To be worthy of being the largest digital infrastructure enterprise in Vietnam, Viettel must invest in large data centers with a capacity of 10-15,000 racks and 200-300,000 servers. Currently, Viettel’s 13 small and medium data centers with a total of 9,000 racks are still not equal to a large data center. Among the thousands of large and super large data centers in the world, Vietnam does not have any.

Viettel must invest in large data centers.

Second, digital platforms provide core digital technologies as services, digital platforms with infrastructure in cyberspace. This is a new type of infrastructure in cyberspace. Vietnam chooses to develop Vietnamese digital platforms as a breakthrough solution for Vietnam's digital transformation. Viettel must develop national digital platforms used nationwide, all ministries and localities use the same Viettel digital platform. Viettel should not make individual software. Viettel's main business is providing infrastructure, first telecommunications infrastructure, now digital infrastructure. In cyberspace, whoever holds the digital platform holds the data, and because they hold the data, they will decide everything. Therefore, if Vietnam's digital transformation is not based on Vietnamese digital platforms, the main beneficiary of Vietnam's digital transformation will not be Vietnam. Viettel must take on a new mission of mastering digital technology, mastering the digital platform of Vietnam's digital transformation process.
Postal services are not just about delivery, but the root must be to create e-commerce and online shopping. If we do not do the root but only do the tip, then there will be no place to survive. Minister Nguyen Manh Hung
Third is e-commerce. The focus is on postal delivery services, logistics, and online shopping. Growth here is 20-25%/year. Vietnam's retail e-commerce in 2022 was 16 billion USD, increasing steadily by 20-25%/year, but only accounts for 7.5% of revenue from consumer goods and services. The space here is very large. But comrades need to note that postal services are not just delivery, but the root must be to create e-commerce and online shopping. If you do not do the root but only do the tip, there will be no place to live. Large e-commerce enterprises have organized their own delivery services, causing the market share of delivery enterprises to decrease sharply. Viettel should take advantage of the opportunities of new technologies that are fundamentally changing online shopping so that Viettel Post Corporation can shift production and business activities from the top to the bottom.

Opening new growth space for Viettel Post Corporation to shift production and business activities from top to bottom.

The fourth is research and production of high-tech equipment, which is Make in Vietnam. It includes telecommunications infrastructure equipment, IoT, medical equipment, new energy equipment (wind power, solar power) and high-tech defense industry. "Industry and technology will be Viettel's greatest contribution to the country, and will have to become Viettel's largest business segment." Minister Nguyen Manh Hung After industry and research and production of equipment, Viettel must move down to the bottom level to master core technology and source technology. The Ministry of Information and Communications is preparing to submit to the Government the National Strategy on the semiconductor industry. This is a core industry, the foundation of the country. Viettel must be an important enterprise in this strategy. Industry and technology will be Viettel's greatest contribution to the country, and will have to become Viettel's largest business segment. The fifth is industry and services of safety and network security. Safety and network security industry is like the defense industry in the real world. If Vietnam wants to prosper, it must rely on prosperity in cyberspace, which is the digital government, digital economy, digital society, and that prosperity must be protected. Vietnam's digital economy is growing very rapidly, 20-25%/year, 3-4 times higher than GDP growth, and becoming the main growth driver. If Vietnam wants to prosper, it must prosper in cyberspace (KGM). Therefore, Vietnam can and must become a powerhouse in cyber security and safety to protect Vietnam's prosperity in KGM. Viettel, as the leading cyber security and safety enterprise in Vietnam, must be a pioneer in taking on this mission, the mission of becoming a powerhouse in cyber security and safety to be able to protect the Fatherland in cyberspace. The 5 new spaces above are opportunities for Viettel to grow many times over in the next 10 years. Viettel once had a period of 8 times growth within 5 years, that was the period 2004-2009. If Viettel can only do this once in its career, it means that Viettel only has a past and no future. The new spaces are huge, Viettel can absolutely grow many times, not just a few percentage points. The Ministry of Information and Communications also wants to emphasize another idea that Viettel can make a huge contribution to the national digital transformation. That is, popularizing basic digital services, the digital economy, industrialization and modernization of the country. Digital transformation is popular. If we want to develop quickly and sustainably, we must go on two legs: One is to quickly popularize the basics through digital platforms used nationwide; two is to quickly move towards the new through a number of pilots. From the new that has been successfully piloted, we must quickly turn it into the basics to popularize it. Digital transformation is for the entire population and comprehensive, which means it must be popularized. From piloting, we must go to popularization. Piloting without leading to popularization does not create change, does not create transformation, and there will be no digital transformation. In doing digital transformation, Viettel must pay special attention to popularization.

Viettel must pioneer in the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country.

Digital transformation creates a digital economy (DET) and DET will be the main growth driver. Vietnam's DET will account for 20% of GDP by 2024, one year faster than the target set by the 13th Party Congress. The scale of Vietnam's DET will reach 100 billion USD by 2025. Of this 100 billion, 50% will come from ICT and 50% from industrial DET. But in the long term, the proportion of industrial DET in DET will increase and will account for 70-75%. To create 50 billion USD, industrial DET must spend 30% on DET, or 15 billion USD. Meanwhile, spending on DET from the State budget is only over 1 billion USD. Thus, the DET market is 95% private sector, 5% state sector. Viettel must identify the main market, the main battlefield of digital transformation as the 95% sector. Currently, Viettel is focusing on the 5% sector. The 95% sector is certainly more difficult and more competitive. Creating a digital platform like the social network Facebook is certainly more difficult than the document management software that Viettel is selling to the provinces. But Viettel must adjust its strategy to do the more difficult part. Viettel must pioneer in the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country. Resolution 6 of the 13th Party Central Committee emphasized that digital transformation is a new development method to help accelerate and shorten the process of industrialization and modernization of the country. Industrialization is digital transformation in the field of processing, manufacturing and production. Modernization is comprehensive digital transformation, including economy, culture, society, politics and environment. Industrialization and modernization is a great undertaking of our Party and State. It is the great dream of our nation to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers. Viettel must be a top-notch enterprise in the country's industrialization and modernization. Because Viettel holds digital infrastructure, digital technology, digital platforms and digital human resources - the basic elements for industrialization and modernization.
Only by facing new challenges and creating new futures can an organization survive. Minister Nguyen Manh Hung
Any organization, if it wants to go far, if it wants tomorrow to be more glorious than yesterday, it must inherit the past and open up the future. Each generation must tell its own story. What needs to be inherited is tradition, culture, spirit, core values ​​and development philosophy of Viettel. Viettel will have to innovate, reform, go further, but to do that sustainably and with identity, it must remember and preserve the original ideas, the original core values ​​and traditions, the culture that the first generations built. If it wants to adapt to all changes, it must be unchanging. Keeping the unchanging is keeping its identity. Identity is something to preserve, not something to change. Identity is also the core of successful competition. If a kite wants to fly high, it must have a string that holds it to the root; if this string breaks, the kite will be blown away by the wind and fall down. Opening up the future means opening up new development spaces, opening up new perspectives, new approaches. If Viettel does not open up new development spaces, generations of Viettel people will change from F1 to F2, then F3, F4, etc. But when there is a new space, there is a new challenge, there is an opportunity to give birth to a new F1. Only with the spirit that each generation is F1, F1 must give birth to F1, not F1 giving birth to F2, will Viettel last. Only by facing new challenges and creating a new future can an organization last. If the next generation of leaders is not given new, more challenging tasks to do from the beginning, they will tend to become F2. F1 does a great job and then thinks of an even greater job to give to the next generation. If this next generation is successful, then F1 will have given birth to an F1 that is even better than itself. "The development of a virtual assistant for state officials will go hand in hand with the development of a large Vietnamese language model. This is a national digital platform that large enterprises like Viettel must master." Minister Nguyen Manh Hung Recently, the Ministry of Information and Communications, on behalf of the Government, assigned Viettel a very specific task but with profound meaning and influence on national governance. That is to develop a virtual assistant for state officials. One of the most effective applications that AI brings, especially when "generative AI" based on a large language model appears, is a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants are especially useful for types of workers based on regulations, such as state officials who are only allowed to do what the law prescribes. With a "forest" of regulations, virtual assistants will reduce the load, reduce the burden, reduce legal risks, increase quality, and increase labor productivity for state officials. Virtual assistants have been developed for a long time, but only when a large language model appeared did there be a breakthrough development. Virtual assistants for the State civil servant system are a big step forward for the Digital Government. The construction of virtual assistants for State civil servants will go hand in hand with the development of a large Vietnamese language model. This is a national digital platform that large enterprises like Viettel must master. Other digital technology enterprises will rely on this platform to develop virtual assistant applications. The Minister asked Viettel's leaders, the Chairman and General Director of the Group, to consider this a national strategic task assigned to Viettel by the Government.
Let others stand on your shoulders, or create technologies and platforms for others to use to create products and services for society. Minister Nguyen Manh Hung
The current generation of Viettel's leaders is a new generation. The first generation was in their 40s, then in their 50s, in their 60s, and now in their 70s. Let's keep the core values ​​of our roots, but give them new connotations of our time, and create our future. The glorious past can be a burden, but it can also be a good foundation for bigger dreams. But the key point is that the dream must be bigger. A better starting point than the previous generation means the dream must be bigger than the previous generation. The first 10 years, from 1990 to 2000, Viettel was a trading and construction company for telecommunications works. The next 10 years, from 2000 to 2010, Viettel was a telecommunications service enterprise. The third 10 years, from 2010 to 2020, Viettel was an industrial group. In all three stages, Viettel is always number 1. "To develop quickly and sustainably, Viettel must take digital technology as the basic production force, digital talent as the basic resource and digital innovation as the basic driving force." Minister Nguyen Manh Hung In the fourth 10 years, from 2020 to 2030, Viettel will have to write a new page, that is, a global corporation in digital technology, actively participating in the two biggest transformations of the century of mankind: digital transformation and green transformation. Viettel must go down to the bottom level to develop source technology. Let others stand on your shoulders, or create technologies and platforms for others to use to create products and services for society. Viettel's current leadership will basically have another 10 years. Go your own way. Go to a new destination. And then leave at the right time to let another generation, the first generation of 8, write another new page. Let's reinvent every 10 years. To develop quickly and sustainably, Viettel must take digital technology as the basic production force, digital talent as the basic resource and digital innovation as the basic driving force. Wishing Viettel to continue to take on new and bigger challenges and thus achieve greater success, and thus survive! Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung