Samsung, Huawei, Tencent, Siemens or Volkswagen are not only billion-dollar businesses but have also become symbols of the nation's economic strength.
Reality shows that behind the rise of many superpowers are always large enough leading enterprises to drag along industry, supply chains and the competitiveness of an economy.
The history of the development of many leading economies in the world shows a common point: the success of the nation always goes hand in hand with the growth of leading businesses. It is no coincidence that when mentioning Korea, people think of Samsung; mentioning China is Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei; while Germany is associated with Siemens, Volkswagen or SAP.
A noteworthy point is that these countries do not wait for businesses to grow up according to market rules. They proactively plan long-term development policies, build a stable business environment, prioritize innovation, support businesses to expand international markets and protect legitimate competitive interests.
The goal is not to create a monopoly position for any business, but to form businesses with sufficient scale and competitiveness with the world, thereby accompanying the government to promote growth and enhance national position.
These businesses not only generate revenue, jobs or contribute to the budget. When rising to the top in global scale, they also drive the development of the entire supply chain, creating motivation for thousands of satellite businesses, promoting research and development (R&D), training high-quality human resources and building national brands on the international stage.
That is why many experts consider leading businesses as one of the "strategic levers" of the economy.
China, South Korea and Germany: Businesses that change the country's position
Over the past 3 decades, China has not only emerged as the "factory of the world" but has also gradually become a global technology and digital economy center. That transformation process is closely linked to the maturity of large-scale enterprises.
Tencent built WeChat into a "super app" serving more than a billion users, forming a giant ecosystem from electronic payments, commerce, entertainment to public services. Alibaba opened the era of e-commerce and digital economy, helping millions of businesses access domestic and foreign markets.
Meanwhile, Huawei invests tens of billions of USD each year in research and development, bringing China from a backward position to one of the leading countries in telecommunications and many high-tech fields.
Along with that, large-scale financial institutions such as ICBC play a role in providing capital for the economy, creating a foundation for the process of expanding investment and trade. As these businesses reach out to the world, China's economic influence also increases accordingly.
South Korea is a clearer proof of the role of leading businesses. From a poor country after the war, this country created the "Han River miracle" thanks to the development of large industrial corporations.
Samsung today is not only the world's leading smartphone or semiconductor chip manufacturer but also a symbol of South Korean technological capacity. This group contributes a significant proportion to export turnover, creating hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and playing an important role in the global semiconductor industry. Samsung's growth shows that a large enough enterprise can become the engine to pull the entire economy forward.
In addition, LG builds a global position in the field of household electronics, chemicals and especially electric vehicle batteries through LG Energy Solution - a supplier for many major car manufacturers such as Tesla, General Motors, Hyundai or Volkswagen.
Meanwhile, Germany chose a different path. This country does not own many famous consumer technology corporations like the US or China, but builds its strength based on leading industrial and manufacturing enterprises in the world.
Siemens is one of the largest industrial technology corporations globally, leading in automation, infrastructure and digital industry - the foundation for Germany's manufacturing capacity. Volkswagen has become a major car manufacturer with a brand portfolio spanning from Audi, Porsche to Bentley and Lamborghini.
SAP is also the largest management software company in Europe, likened to "Microsoft of corporate governance". These businesses have created the "Made in Germany" brand associated with quality, technology and reliability globally.
Vietnam needs a leading national business ecosystem
Looking at the journey of China, South Korea or Germany, it can be seen that the breakthrough of the economy is always associated with the synergy of many leading enterprises in different fields. They not only create value for themselves but also pull the entire business ecosystem, improve innovation capacity, expand supply chains and increase national competitiveness.
For Vietnam, the lesson is not in copying the model of any country, but in building a strong enough National Enterprise ecosystem in many fields. These enterprises can be in the state or private sector, operating in technology, agriculture, food, finance - banking, energy, infrastructure or real estate, as long as they are competitive enough in the international market.
Vietnam also has its own way of building National Enterprises with Vietnamese identity. Vietnam is shifting from the "State-led - enterprise-implementing" mechanism to a "Building State - enterprise-led market".
Accordingly, the state is shifting its focus from simple support to creating an environment, policies and resources for businesses to invest in the long term with the goal of forming businesses that can play a leading role in important industries.
In addition, Vietnam is focusing resources on industries of strategic significance, capable of creating long-term competitive advantages such as AI, semiconductor, manufacturing industry, clean energy, digital infrastructure, digital finance...
Mechanisms and policies to encourage businesses to invest in long-term core technology research and development, build global brands... have been initially built. Moreover, Vietnam has also strengthened the promotion of basic scientific research: Opening the way for Vietnamese intelligence. General Secretary and President To Lam once emphasized: Basic scientific research is not only a specialized academic activity but also a strategic foundation of national development in the 21st century.
In fact, Vietnam has seen many businesses with potential to take on this role such as Viettel in technology and telecommunications, Vingroup in industry and technology, Techcombank in finance, Vinamilk in the food industry or Masterise Group in real estate...
If more and more Vietnamese businesses rise to regional and world scale, their synergistic strength will not only create more jobs or contribute to the budget, but also contribute to forming domestic supply chains, promoting innovation and enhancing the position of the economy.
