To survive, Vietnamese technology enterprises must have products with their own brands.

The explanations of Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung in the dialogue at CMC Technology Group are not only suggestive but also set new standards for the international ambitions of Vietnamese technology enterprises.

Strategy must be linked to national mission

On November 19, 2025 in Hanoi, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung had a frank dialogue with the Board of Directors and senior management of CMC Technology Group about the necessary and sufficient conditions for a Vietnamese technology enterprise to reach regional scale and reach global status.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung affirmed: The core of competition lies in products, not just in technology.

With his experience leading Viettel from a domestic enterprise to a global telecommunications corporation, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung affirmed: The sustainable development path of Vietnamese technology enterprises today cannot be based on repeating the successful models of international corporations, but must originate from national problems and the ability to create their own intellectual property products.

The Minister emphasized that Vietnam's economic growth in the 2025-2045 period can only reach a sustainable double-digit level if five major groups of issues are thoroughly resolved: digital infrastructure, smart urban governance, improving the efficiency of the state apparatus, developing science and technology and innovation.

Leading technology enterprises like CMC can only achieve outstanding growth when they put themselves in the position of solving those problems instead of just pursuing short-term profits.

"Corporate strategy cannot be separated from national strategy. Real driving force only appears when businesses, the Government and the Party see common interests and act together," said the Minister.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung shares vision and strategic views with key officials of CMC Technology Group.

Thus, true strategy is not an organization's closed internal plan, but the ability to identify and create resonance between business goals and the country's development orientation.

The strongest driving force only appears when businesses, the State and the political system act together for a common set of goals.

Intellectual property products - the vital condition for long-term competitive advantage

The message that the Minister repeated most often during the dialogue was: Technology is just a means, new products are what create value and long-term competitive position.

The Minister pointed out the current worrying situation: Vietnam invests heavily in research but the commercialization rate is extremely low. "We often stop at the laboratory or at the prototype. To be different, businesses must master the entire value chain: from design, system integration, production, distribution, to after-sales service," the Minister emphasized.

With the C-OpenAI ecosystem that CMC is building, the Minister recommended not pursuing the "do everything for everyone" model like big techs in the US or China, but choosing specialized fields where Vietnam has the best data advantages and contextual understanding.

"Customers do not pay for technology, they only pay for products that solve their problems," the Minister affirmed.

The Minister also frankly assessed: Software and information technology services (outsourcing) are bringing in large and stable revenue, but cannot become a strategic pillar to build the Vietnamese technology brand in the world.

"Processing is just seed capital. Using revenue from processing to invest in developing core technology and own products - that is the right path. If we only work for others, we will never have our own place," the Minister analyzed.

He appreciated CMC Global's shift from traditional outsourcing to becoming a comprehensive AI service provider (AIX Service Provider), but at the same time reminded: "Once you choose a new direction, you must firmly turn it into a core competency, measured, and invested in for the long term, not just a slogan".

AI or semiconductors: It doesn't matter which you choose, it matters whether you dare to do it thoroughly

When asked whether to focus resources on AI or the semiconductor industry, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung answered briefly: "A correct decision is not necessarily as good as a decision that is implemented to the end."

The Minister analyzed that with CMC's current scale and capacity, AI is a more natural and closer choice, especially when the enterprise already owns a large amount of data and a large team of engineers.

However, semiconductors are also completely feasible if you choose the right segment (chip design, IP core, testing, IoT specialized chips...) instead of rushing into billion-dollar projects.

"AI and semiconductors are increasingly organically linked together. Vietnamese enterprises can completely choose a niche where the world still has space and Vietnam has a human resource advantage," the Minister commented.

Key officials of CMC shared difficulties and problems and asked for advice from the Minister of Science and Technology on vision and future development.

The Minister spent most of his time discussing organizational culture, especially the role of discipline in the AI ​​era. The Minister assessed that CMC has had many remarkable internal initiatives (knowledge repository, AI programming support, AI Agent...), but they are still fragmented and have not yet formed a unified system across the entire corporation. The Minister pointed out three key solutions:

Build a high-quality internal data warehouse, viewing data as a "gold mine" to train your own AI models.

Deploy specialized AI assistants for each department and function.

Establish strict digital discipline, every employee must spend a fixed time every day to update work on the system.

"Discipline does not hinder creativity. Discipline is the rail that helps creativity run faster and not derail," the Minister affirmed.

Aspiration to last a hundred years

At the end of the dialogue, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung asked a big question for CMC in the next decade: From the 30th year onwards, the goal is not only to increase revenue by a certain percentage, but also to become the first Vietnamese technology enterprise with a hundred-year history, standing shoulder to shoulder with long-standing technology corporations in Japan, Korea, Germany...

"The necessary condition is to have a Vietnamese branded product with its own intellectual property. The sufficient condition is a culture of continuous learning and a strong ability to self-reflect internally," the Minister concluded.

Chairman Nguyen Trung Chinh pledged to accept the Minister's suggestions for the upcoming strategic development journey of CMC.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of CMC Technology Group Nguyen Trung Chinh expressed: "The Minister's analysis is not only profound in strategy but also very practical, touching on the biggest bottlenecks that CMC is facing. We will transform all these recommendations into a specific action plan, determined to create a breakthrough in the period 2026-2030".

The dialogue ended, leaving CMC's leadership with a new belief: The path to bringing Vietnamese technology brands to the world, although long and arduous, is completely feasible - if we dare to choose our own products, dare to commit to the end and dare to create a culture of discipline to enhance creativity./

According to Vietnam Science and Technology Magazine

Source: https://mst.gov.vn/muon-truong-ton-doanh-nghiep-cong-nghe-viet-phai-co-san-pham-mang-thuong-hieu-rieng-197251201221630823.htm