Suzuki Shoten, Iwai Bunsuke Shoten and Nihon Menka, the three trading companies from which Sojitz evolved, were all founded in the 19th century. “While Sojitz is a young company, established only in 2004, its roots, which go back 160 years, give it a great depth of experience, knowledge, and tradition,” said Mizushima.

Kozo Mizushima
President of Sojitz Vietnam

For the Vietnamese participants, Iriyama explained that sogo shosha (“general trading companies”) are “a type of business unique to Japan, which, put simply, serve as the infrastructure of the economy.” He added that the business of sogo shosha is “to use their networking strengths to connect businesses that have not been combined before.”

In 1986, Nissho Iwai, a predecessor of Sojitz, became the first company from the Western bloc to open an office in Vietnam. At that time, Vietnam’s relations with the United States and other Western bloc countries were strained, making the business environment difficult. “Yet, we opened an office here because we felt that Vietnam would become a very important country for us,” said Mizushima.

In this kind of overseas expansion, it was vital to develop business activities in accordance with the company’s core mission to “create new value and prosperity by connecting the world with a spirit of integrity.” Today, Sojitz has about 70 Japanese personnel stationed in Vietnam working alongside about 8,400 Vietnamese. “I regularly tell our Japanese people to treat their Vietnamese colleagues with integrity and respect,” revealed Mizushima.

Corporate philosophy and slogan of the Sojitz Group

Akie Iriyama
Professor, Waseda Business School
(Graduate School of Business and Finance, Waseda University)

“According to business administration theory, people cannot effectively put an idea into practice unless they are clear and convinced about the idea,” noted Iriyama. He continued, “A strong company should have a clear policy about how to contribute to society towards the distant future. And all employees need to be convinced of it. Sojitz is strong because it is able to implement this principle.”

Iriyama pointed out that Japan has the largest number of old companies in the world. He explained, “What such long-surviving businesses have in common is that they adapt to the times, without losing sight of the company’s principles.” Mizushima agreed, saying, “When we run into obstacles, especially overseas, we adapt to overcome them, while always sticking to our corporate philosophy.”

Mizushima then explained some of the changes made by Sojitz in the Vietnamese market. “We believe that we can no longer rely on labor forces to produce things, so we are working to develop retail, food and service businesses. Over time, we will also need to incorporate digital transformation (DX) and other new technologies in these businesses.”

Iriyama expressed his hope that “Japanese companies will focus on the exchange of digital human resources in collaboration with Vietnamese universities, since Vietnam is producing large numbers of talented IT professionals.”

Conversations at the time of founding have led to a vision that continues to this day

Binh revealed the reason why he started his company, FPT Corporation, saying, “I wanted to improve the lives of my friends.” When he was starting the company in 1988, he spoke with those friends about what he wanted to achieve. Some of the ideas were to “try to build a strong and prosperous company;” “choose the fields of science, technology and engineering;” “make Vietnam a country we can be proud of;” and “provide all employees with a materially comfortable and spiritually rich life.” Binh added, “Some of the keywords that came up at the time are still part of FPT’s current vision.”

FPT’s expansion into Japan in the 2000s served as an opportunity to appreciate the value of “education” and incorporate it into the new company’s vision. At that time, FPT faced difficulties after its first overseas venture failed. Amid these difficulties, an employee of a Japanese company who recognized the potential of Vietnamese software paid for several FPT employees to travel to Japan.

Binh recounted that after landing the company’s first deal in Japan as a result of that trip, “I learned that you need the Japanese language to work in Japan.” He therefore decided to speak directly with the Vietnamese Prime Minister to ask for permission to set up a Japanese language school for IT engineers. This led to the establishment of what is now FPT University. In the process of establishing FPT University and other educational systems, Binh became convinced that “education is the key to nurture people with dreams and enthusiasm, to generate innovation, and to increase the number of people with a passion for science and technology.”

FPT is a company that has continued to change its business significantly over time. Recently, the company has focused on AI, semiconductors, automotive, DX and Green Transformation (GX). “We believe that Vietnam has great potential in the area of chips for AI,” explained Binh. “FPT is committed to converting 500,000 IT engineers into AI engineers,” he added.

FPT’s areas of medium and long-term strategic focus

Truong Gia Binh
Founder and Chairman, FPT Corporation

Iriyama noted that “Japan is weak in semiconductor manufacturing, but very strong in related industries.” Elaborating, he explained that Japan has strengths in fields such as semiconductor inspection equipment and resins required for semiconductors. He expressed his belief that “partnerships between Japan and Vietnam in the field of semiconductors have great potential.”

Agreeing with Iriyama, Binh said, “Japan is globally competitive in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials.” He added, “I am confident that if Japan and Vietnam cooperate and complement each other in semiconductors, we can build a new golden age.”

Iriyama commented, “The international situation has become unstable. Some people are saying that we have entered an era of economic decoupling. On the other hand, though, global instability makes it all the more essential to secure reliable and outstanding human resources.” He expressed his outlook for the field of semiconductors, saying, “Japan and Vietnam undoubtedly make an ideal and powerful combination, so the two countries should work to engage in open ‘semiconductor diplomacy.’”