What suggestions and advice do multinational corporation leaders offer to Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City?

At the CEO 500 - TEA CONNECT session on the afternoon of November 25, many leaders of multinational corporations and local leaders sat together, discussed and gave advice for Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in the digital transformation era.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Seven Stars Investment Group Bruno Wu shared at the CEO 500 - TEA CONNECT session within the framework of the Autumn Economic Forum 2025 - Photo: THANH HIEP

Sharing with the leaders of the Government and Ho Chi Minh City at the CEO 500 - TEA CONNECT session, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Seven Stars Investment Group Bruno Wu said that the group has spent time researching and has specific proposals for the development orientation of the International Finance Center (IFC) of Ho Chi Minh City and building AI resources in Vietnam.

Mr. Wu calls these initiatives the “Leaf Frog” project, in which he suggests that Vietnam should not follow the path of other countries in developing the value chain, but should take a step ahead.

“Therefore, we will bring to Vietnam an AI center with about 2,164 AI models that can be used and deployed in more than 20 industries. Vietnam does need to build computing capacity, but more importantly, Vietnam needs to use AI as a tool,” Mr. Wu said.

In that context, Sun Seven Stars also said it will bring AI human resources to Vietnam, with the number up to hundreds of thousands of engineers, possibly in virtual form.

“We want to build a triple-A AI factory, focusing on AI - Asset - Assured Products. The purpose of applying AI is to turn AI into a tool for commercialization, thereby creating data assets. Data is the 'new generation oil',” Mr. Wu affirmed.

Representative of the Executive Board of the Packaging Recycling Alliance Vietnam (PRO Vietnam), Mr. Ashish Joshi, General Director of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam - Photo: NVCC

Representative of the Executive Board of the Packaging Recycling Alliance Vietnam (PRO Vietnam), Mr. Ashish Joshi, General Director of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam, affirmed that the alliance accompanies Ho Chi Minh City and the Government in building green infrastructure worthy of a megacity.

Accordingly, PRO Vietnam proposes three key groups of solutions to remove bottlenecks in the recycling market.

Firstly, Mr. Joshi said that the Government needs to have incentives, establish clear EPR guidelines and transparent financial mechanisms. In particular, the Government needs to have specific incentive policies for eco-design and the use of recycled materials (such as rPET).

Next, Vietnam will need to modernize its infrastructure through cooperation, with industrial-scale collection - classification - recycling systems and the application of modern technology. PRO Vietnam is committed to contributing its experience and resources to promote effective public-private partnership (PPP) models in this field.

Ultimately, Vietnam will need to create a viable end market for recycled materials, ensuring they have commercial value. “Creating a sustainable demand for rPET, recycled paper or other materials will help close the loop, turning waste into a real resource, and thereby attracting private capital to the recycling sector,” Joshi said.

At the end of his speech, Mr. Ashish Joshi reaffirmed his commitment to accompany the Government and Ho Chi Minh City: “Vietnam can absolutely lead the region in circular packaging if we act together and act decisively. PRO Vietnam is always committed, united and determined to make the circular economy a reality in Vietnam."

Regarding local exchanges, Mr. Ilkka Porttikivi, Deputy Mayor of Tampere City (Finland) advised Ho Chi Minh City on the model and strategy of "action city" that Tampere is implementing, aiming towards a city where people can develop, act and belong to the community.

Mr. Ilkka Porttikivi, Deputy Mayor of Tampere City (Finland) - Photo: THANH HIEP

The strategy combines joy, leadership, sustainability and solidarity, with a strong focus on innovation, digitalisation, collaboration and responsible growth. The city aims to lead by action, both domestically and internationally, while ensuring the well-being and opportunity of all its residents. From there, he shares his experience that the most important investment is in people.

Emphasizing that a smart city cannot be separated from an education system that connects with businesses, with AI being just a tool and human intelligence being the center, Mr. Ilkka Porttikivi suggested that it could be replicated in Ho Chi Minh City, and international cooperation models like the one the Tampere Education ecosystem has done and has been successful can be replicated in Ho Chi Minh City.

Education Tampere is a successful ecosystem that brings together all educational institutions and creates many synergies. At the same time, the merger of two universities and a university of applied sciences has created a larger university community that is more competitive in the international context. All educational institutions are constantly developing their own teaching methods and developing additional digital services for learning.

NGHI VU - CONG TRIEU

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lanh-dao-tap-doan-da-quoc-gia-de-xuat-hien-ke-gi-cho-viet-nam-va-tp-hcm-20251125203107056.htm