Indian tech billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, known as “India’s Bill Gates” and the father-in-law of the UK Prime Minister, has paid a visit to Vietnam. On May 20, the billionaire co-founder of Infosys Technologies held a dialogue with Vietnamese information technology (IT) experts at Hanoi’s Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, within a series of activities during his first visit to Vietnam from May 19 to 23.

Mr. Murthy and Vietnamese tech experts discussed promoting innovation in businesses, the development of new technology trends, and opportunities for Vietnam’s IT industry. He shared his experience in business, management, and building a corporate culture - factors that helped him and his colleagues make Infosys an industry legend in India. Mr. Murthy also met with FPT Chairman Dr. Truong Gia Binh, discussing the development of the two corporations, important milestones, and business leadership.

The Infosys founder said he respects the courage, hard work, discipline, and ambition of many generations of Vietnamese, and “many countries around the world need to learn from the creativity of Vietnamese people.” He also emphasized the value of exchanging ideas with others.

“Dr. Binh has proven to me the value of openness, exchanging ideas with everyone, and the value of ideas, which are not only useful to Dr. Binh but also to others,” he added. “Those ideas can be deployed into products.”

Mr. Murthy became an IT legend and known as “India’s Bill Gates” when he took Infosys from an unknown company to a symbol of the country’s software industry. In 1999, Infosys was the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the US. In 2023, the company posted revenue of over $18 billion and had 320,000 employees, a presence in 50 countries and territories globally, and a market value of over $70 billion. According to Forbes, in 2023 Mr. Murthy had assets of $4.1 billion, ranking him 711^th among the richest people on the planet.

Mr. Murthy’s appearance confirms Vietnam’s position in the eyes of international friends

In his opening remarks at the meeting with Mr. Murthy, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Bui Hoang Phuong said the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and India has been sustainable and well developed over the past 50 years. In particular, the potential and space for further development in the tech industry between the two countries has become greater, especially in the fields of AI and semiconductor technology.

Deputy Minister Phuong said Vietnam’s IT and digital technology industry is experiencing outstanding development. “Vietnam’s technology industry has grown by 15-20 per cent over the past ten years, with many large foreign corporations establishing a presence in the country, such as Samsung and LG, and Vietnam also has major corporations capable of competing with foreign giants, such as FPT and VNPT,” he added.

To achieve this success, he continued, the Vietnamese Government has issued a series of dynamic and creative measures, such as a policy on developing concentrated IT parks. Since 2001, Vietnam has opened eight such parks, with more than 1,000 businesses. The government has also issued preferential policies in the field of software production, to support FDI enterprises in Vietnam.

Other strategies include an AI development policy to 2030, with the goal of turning AI into an important field in Vietnam and the country becoming an innovation center.

The Deputy Minister said the government will continue to issue support mechanisms and policies. For example, in June, it will begin a project to develop semiconductor human resources to 2030 and is expected to promulgate a law on the digital technology industry by 2025 to promote the field. Vietnam, he said, welcomes businesspeople and major corporations to visit and invest in the country. Mr. Murthy’s appearance has affirmed Vietnam’s interest and position in the eyes of international friends.

Inspiration for Vietnam to have many billion-dollar tech groups like India

IT and digital technology are considered new productive forces, contributing to Vietnam’s modernization. Deputy Minister Phuong hopes that Mr. Murthy, with his knowledge and vision, will share with the Vietnamese community how best to manage and operate and discuss new technology trends and how to earn billions of dollars for the country. The Deputy Minister also hoped that Mr. Murthy would call on the business community in India and other countries to deepen cooperation, connecting Vietnam with India and the world.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, General Director of FPT and Chairman of the Vietnam Software & IT Services Association (VINASA), Infosys is considered a symbol of the global IT industry. “The appearance of Mr. Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys, is truly meaningful and creates motivation for Vietnamese tech entrepreneurs,” he said.

He added that Vietnam’s technology industry has matured, earning total revenue of $148 billion, with software and information technology services revenue of $16 billion, 1.4 million technology human resources, and about 300,000 engineers in its software industry.

“I hope that today will be a new inspiration for Vietnam to have many billion-dollar technology corporations like India, and an inspiration for Vietnam to have many unicorns like India, making a mark in technology cooperation between Vietnam and India to serve the global market,” he said.

‘The first time I went to India in 1999, I was impressed’

One of the most influential achievements of Mr. Murthy has been pioneering the global IT service delivery model, allowing companies to carry out work in locations with the best human resources, the most economic sense, and the lowest risk, according to experts. This model has revolutionized the global IT service industry in optimizing structure, resources, and work distribution, and improving service speed and quality.

Dr. Binh from FPT said that when Vietnam’s IT industry decided to “step out into the world”, Vietnam learned a lot from India. For FPT, the ambition to train and build the first software business was also inspired by India.

“In 1999, when I first went to India, I was impressed by the strong development of its IT industry,” Dr. Binh said. “I wondered whether Vietnam could the same. And Mr. Murthy affirmed that ‘of course Vietnam can do it,’ and that encouraged me, so I began reaching out globally. Since then, we have never stopped learning, sending delegations to India to find out more. And today we also want to learn more from Mr. Murthy.”

The FPT Chairman added that this spirit of continuous learning will be applied at FPT Software, and will be the driving force for the business to grow.