FPT and PNJ leaders forecast the economic situation in 2025 and opportunities for Vietnamese businesses

The intertwined opportunities and challenges in 2025 will create conditions for Vietnamese businesses to thrive, provided they know how to apply technology to solve problems related to their expertise.

Leadersof FPT and PNJ forecast the economic situation in 2025 and opportunities for Vietnamese businesses.

The intertwined opportunities and challenges in 2025 will create conditions for Vietnamese businesses to thrive, provided they know how to apply technology to solve problems related to their expertise.

Seminar “The Economic Landscape - Global Trends, Opportunities for Vietnam”. Photo by Chi Cuong.

The panel discussion "The Economic Landscape - Global Trends, Opportunities for Vietnam," held late in the afternoon of December 23rd as part of the 2024 Golden Star of Vietnam Awards Ceremony, offered many new perspectives, ranging from the global economy to issues directly relevant to Vietnamese businesses.

The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Le Trong Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Dau Tu newspaper, with the participation of Mr. Le Tri Thong, General Director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ), and Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, General Director of FPT Group.

A multifaceted perspective on the economic landscape of 2025.

Mr. Le Tri Thong, General Director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ), has a rather optimistic view of the Vietnamese economy in 2025. "Credit growth currently has significant room for development, and public investment is a crucial driving force for economic progress," Mr. Thong stated.

Mr. Le Tri Thong, General Director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ). Photo: Chi Cuong

With economists predicting that the Trump administration may increase tariffs on imported goods and shift supply chains back to the US, the PNJ representative believes that the effects will not be immediate for Vietnam, but may not become clear until the third quarter of 2026. "Therefore, in the short term, 2025 will be a favorable year for the Vietnamese economy," the businessman shared.

Accordingly, he predicted that Vietnam would continue to benefit from the trend of shifting production chains and FDI out of China. Several sectors could benefit from this wave, such as logistics, industrial parks, and retail. In particular, the real estate sector will gradually warm up thanks to improvements in legal procedures.

In contrast to Mr. Le Tri Thong, Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, General Director of FPT Group, views 2025 as a challenging year, forcing Vietnamese businesses to find opportunities amidst adversity.

"We have prepared our team for the fact that 2025 will be a more difficult year than 2023 and 2024 combined," Mr. Khoa said.

In this context, FPT representatives believe that for Vietnamese businesses to develop, they must join hands and form an ecosystem to lead together, creating "national enterprises." Instead of doing everything independently, copying others' work, or being jealous of others' work, businesses must link up and cooperate with each other.

Mr. Khoa gave an example: if FPT receives an international project, the company will redistribute the relevant parts to smaller businesses within its ecosystem, based on the principle of not competing with or "swallowing up" their products.

  Increased power through technology.

Although they view the 2025 picture from different perspectives, both business leaders agree that technology is a crucial element that every business needs to integrate to increase its competitiveness.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, General Director of FPT Group. Photo : Chi Cuong

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa stated that if businesses apply digital transformation in inventory management, they can reduce costs by at least 4% compared to competitors; if done well, this reduction can reach 8%. When businesses adopt artificial intelligence, this rate can increase many times over.

More specifically, with the ChatGPT tool, in the past, FPT leaders planning business trips to Cuba, the US, etc., needed to rely on the office department. But with ChatGPT, they can request the tool to automatically create a business trip plan (specifically, how many days to travel, the cheapest cost, etc.), thereby freeing up work for the office staff.

From a macroeconomic perspective, Mr. Le Tri Thong cited the example of neighboring China. According to him, China's rise to become the world's second-largest economy was not due to becoming the " world's factory," but rather because they bet on the Internet. China has national strategies to develop this sector and create favorable conditions for businesses to leverage policies for growth.

Both entrepreneurs believe that new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are crucial tools for enhancing competitiveness, optimizing operations, and increasing productivity. Instead of fearing AI, businesses should understand that AI only supports processes to run more smoothly.

“Vietnamese businesses are still hesitant about technology. Some businesses still manage their operations using Excel. We've observed that when we ask businesses what problems they need to solve, they can't answer. When we ask lower-level employees how they handle a lack of marketing budget, they only reply by asking their boss for more funds, without knowing how to use technology to reduce costs. Businesses should prioritize training their employees in artificial intelligence, and business owners themselves should know how to use AI,” suggested an FPT representative.

He also argued that for technology to be applied effectively, the essence is that the business leader must truly understand their own problems, their industry, and the expertise within the company. "I honestly advise you not to hire technology teams and then expect them to help you outperform your competitors. That's impossible. You must understand your own problem first, then use technology to solve it. Technology only accounts for 10%, the remaining 90% is your management," the businessman emphasized.

This view from the FPT representative was echoed by the PNJ representative, with Mr. Le Tri Thong also stating that AI is an "expensive game" and success only comes to businesses that know how to set the right challenges.

"The person who poses the problem incorrectly will not have the correct solution. This is a matter of human intelligence, not artificial intelligence," said Mr. Le Tri Thong.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/lanh-dao-fpt-pnj-du-bao-tinh-hinh-kinh-te-2025-va-co-hoi-cho-doanh-nghiep-viet-d234726.html