Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang talks about the reason why BKAV has not become "Big Tech"

(NLDO) - Although he has signed contracts with more than 300 suppliers to produce phones, Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang admits that BKAV still cannot become a Big Tech.

On the morning of June 5, at the second discussion session of the Vietnam Economic Forum 2025 organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper with the theme "Private economy: Removing barriers - Assigning responsibilities", Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang, General Director of BKAV Group, shared the reason why despite being full of enthusiasm and potential, he has not been able to reach the level of becoming a "Big Tech".

According to Mr. Quang, the problem does not lie in human capacity. He said that he started working on software in 1995, so he understands very well the capacity of Vietnamese people, which is among the world leaders in this field.

He cited the example of the birth of ChatGPT, which caused a stir in the world and was compared to a historical milestone, not inferior to the discovery of fire. In that revolutionary technology, there are two technologies that Vietnamese people are the authors or co-authors.

Recalling the case of Bphone, a "made in Vietnam" phone product launched by BKAV Group 10 years ago, Mr. Quang emphasized that this is a product that can be compared to Apple and Samsung, although each company has its own strengths.

Mr. Nguyen Tu Quang, General Director of BKAV Group, shared at the forum.

Mr. Quang said that BKAV has signed contracts with more than 300 suppliers to produce phones. However, he admitted that BKAV has not yet become a “Big Tech".

Regarding this cause, Mr. Quang believes that the problem does not lie in people or capacity, but in the development environment. Private enterprises like BKAV can invest thousands of billions of VND in research and development, they have the right to make their own decisions and accept risks because it is their own money.

On the contrary, in the public sector, a failure of an investment of only VND 100 million can lead to administrative or even criminal liability. That leads to many limitations in innovation and development of new technologies.

In addition, state-owned enterprises often have a tenure-based mindset, making it difficult to pursue long-term technology strategies. As a result, breakthrough products are less likely to emerge in the public sector than they are in the private sector.

He cited examples of successful technology startups like OpenAI or DeepSeek – which initially started out as businesses with just a few dozen employees but later created world-shaking products, expanded to thousands of employees and created trillions of dollars in value.

From the reality of BKAV and now, he emphasized that Vietnamese people can absolutely do that. But to do that, the most important thing is to have a fair business environment.

"With more than two decades of experience and patience in the technology field, I believe that fair competition is the key factor for Vietnamese private enterprises to thrive," said Mr. Quang.

According to Mr. Quang, it is necessary to build a clear and transparent legal corridor, with mechanisms and policies that create a fair playing field for all businesses. Only then will Vietnamese businesses have the opportunity to break through and truly contribute to the country's development.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ong-nguyen-tu-quang-noi-ly-do-bkav-chua-tro-thanh-big-tech-196250605112917092.htm