Vietnam’s corporations face rising challenges in ‘go global’ push

Technology groups like VNG and FPT, along with stationery manufacturer Thien Long, are all navigating intense competition, fluctuating economic conditions, and the need for constant innovation.

VNG Corporation remains one of Vietnam’s most ambitious tech companies in pursuing overseas growth.

In the third quarter of 2025, the company reported net revenue of VND2.9 trillion (US$109 million), up 12 percent year on year, with 19 percent coming from foreign markets.

Gaming continued to anchor its international journey.

Total game bookings reached VND2.3 trillion ($88.2 million), with overseas markets contributing 17 percent.

Meanwhile, foreign bookings hit VND1.891 trillion ($71.6 million) in 2023 and VND1.6 trillion ($62 million) in 2024.

VNG currently holds a 30-percent stake in NCV Games Pte. Ltd., a game distributor headquartered in Singapore.

The remaining stake is owned by South Korea’s NCSoft.

VNG’s investment in NCV Games has appreciated significantly, from VND15.8 billion ($600,000) at the start of 2025 to VND82.6 billion ($3.1 million).

However, VNG’s broader global investments have struggled.

Stakes in several overseas fintech and e-commerce ventures have yielded modest returns.

Its investment in Singapore-based Funding Asia fell eight percent from end-2024 levels, while its investment in Telio was written off entirely after the Singapore-based startup shut down.

Despite these setbacks, VNG has narrowed its losses, reporting a net deficit of just VND7 billion ($264,900) between January and September, compared with nearly VND600 billion ($22.7 million) in the same period last year.

Its leader attributed the remaining losses to heavy marketing for new and strategic products.

VNG chairman Le Hong Minh acknowledged that fintech, cloud services, and AI – areas central to VNG’s future expansion – are still proving their financial viability.

Nevertheless, the company is accelerating investment in AI Cloud, partnering with global leaders such as NVIDIA and VAST Data, and expects digital enterprise services, including cloud, AI, cybersecurity, to become its next major growth engines.

During the January-November period, revenue from this segment rose 57 percent, with more than half coming from overseas markets.

Meanwhile, FPT, long one of Vietnam’s most successful exporters of software and IT services, is also feeling the strain of global competition, especially from AI-driven rivals.

Between January and November, FPT posted revenue of nearly VND50 trillion ($1.8 billion) and pre-tax profit of VND9.5 trillion ($362 million), up 10.3 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively.

Overseas IT services generated VND25.6 trillion ($967 million), accounting for half of the total revenue.

Nguyen Ba Long, an analyst from Vietcombank Securities, noted that FPT’s international revenue growth has slowed from around 20 percent to just above 10 percent.

Key export markets such as Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, and the U.S. posted either negative or minimal growth.

Its competitors are increasingly deploying generative AI to automate workflows, cut costs, and bid lower on contracts.

Still, FPT’s backlog shows signs of recovery, with four consecutive months of positive growth.

Newly signed contracts during the nine-month period reached VND29.3 trillion ($1.1 billion), up 14.4 percent year on year, while the number of deals valued above $10 million nearly doubled.

Tran Nguyen Tuong Huy, an analyst from BIDV Securities JSC, said that large-scale, multi-year projects (three-five years) are becoming more prevalent.

Many companies said their business results had been significantly affected by sharp exchange-rate fluctuations.

One exporter revealed that while $1 million in overseas revenue used to convert to VND23 billion a few years ago, it now converts to more than VND26 billion.

As for FPT, exchange-rate volatility has complicated financial performance.

The JPY/VND exchange rate initially benefited FPT, delivering VND882 billion ($33.4 million) in FX gains early in 2025.

However, as the yen weakened later in the year, FPT’s converted revenue fell roughly six percent from peak levels.

Analysts warn that FPT must transition from labor-intensive outsourcing to higher-value AI and cloud services if it wants to maintain double-digit growth.

Emerging AI data centers in Southeast Asia and India are also ramping up low-cost computing capabilities, intensifying price pressures.

Thien Long: Foreign takeover as path to global expansion

Stationery manufacturer Thien Long Group Corporation made the headlines when Japan’s Kokuyo announced it would acquire an over-65-percent stake in the former valued at 27.6 billion yen ($177 million) to turn the firm into its subsidiary.

Thien Long saw the acquisition as a strategic leap toward glocalization, leveraging Kokuyo’s brand strength, product design expertise, and research capabilities to raise its global competitiveness.

Thien Long has been exporting its products since 2008 and now reaches 74 international markets.

Its export revenue accounted for 28 percent of total revenue in the first eight months of 2025, up from 18 percent in 2020.

However, an analyst from Phu Hung Securities cautioned that the global stationery market is dominated by low-priced Chinese manufacturers, while Vietnamese firms like Thien Long compete on R&D capabilities, environmental standards, and product quality.

The influx of inexpensive Chinese goods may squeeze margins and weigh on Thien Long’s profitability.