Siemens committed after a stellar 2019
Siemens committed after a stellar 2019
German-backed Siemens Vietnam has concluded 2019 with positive results. Pham Thai Lai, president and CEO of Siemens Vietnam, Singapore, and the ASEAN, talked with VIR’s Thanh Dat about how the company has weathered all difficulties to reap rewards in the past year.Could you share the results and some of the greatest achievements of Siemens Vietnam in 2019?
The fiscal year has been a very successful one for Siemens Vietnam. We exceeded many business targets and became one of the best-performing companies in Siemens ASEAN. First of all, I’m very proud to share our latest success in the area of power generation. We are entrusted by Hiep Phuoc Power Co., Ltd. to provide the equipment to upgrade Hiep Phuoc 1 steam power plant in Ho Chi Minh City to a combined cycle power plant. This project will increase the plant’s capacity by roughly 780MW to approximately 1,200MW, thus offering our customers a reliable, secure, and environmentally-friendly power supply for Ho Chi Minh City and the southern region of Vietnam.
Siemens’ smart grid solutions automate and stabilise Vietnam’s power grid and help to cope with fluctuating energy sources. One year earlier, we established a solar power project with Trung Nam Group in Vietnam to put the country’s largest solar farm into operation that supplies approximately 200,000 households with electricity and could save around 250,000 tonnes of CO2.
In fiscal year 2019, once again our customer Trung Nam selected Siemens for their 500kV Trung Nam - Thuan Nam substation and Electrical Balance of Plant part of 450MW Trung Nam - Thuan Nam solar power plant. In particular, Siemens has most recently helped VinFast, Vietnam’s first volume car manufacturer, to build Southeast Asia’s first fully digital factory, which is one of the most state-of-the-art 4.0 Industry factories, as well as to achieve their automotive production timeline for building the factory, car design and start of the production in a record time of only 21 months.
In 2019, we were very proud and honoured to host the visit of the Vietnamese minister of Planning and Investment and the minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) at our Siemens headquarters in Berlin.
The highlight of the second visit was the inking of an MoU between the MoIT and Siemens on infrastructure development for the sustainable economic development of Vietnam.
You were recently appointed to the position of president and CEO of Siemens Singapore and the ASEAN in addition to your current role as CEO of Siemens Vietnam. How will you juggle the roles and what is your top priority now?
It is my honour and pleasure to be appointed president and CEO of Siemens ASEAN, especially at a time of transformation and renewal for Siemens.
In my last seven years in the ASEAN, I have seen the region grow at a tremendous pace – economically and socially. The region is now the fourth-most popular investment destination globally, and the world’s fifth-largest economy with a GDP of $2.8 trillion.
Unfortunately, the ASEAN economy is currently being also partially impacted by global turbulences with escalating trade and geo-economic tensions.
Siemens has both contributed and benefited much from the ASEAN’s growth, having been involved in many of its infrastructure projects. The ASEAN remains a region with enormous potential. With its diverse development stages and infrastructure requirements, each country presents unique opportunities for our company. In the next few months, I look forward to visiting each of the ASEAN countries to understand our markets better, and to see if there are more areas that we can collaborate better as a region.
What is your plan for Siemens Vietnam in the new year?
Together with my Vietnamese team, we will continue to strive to maintain our leading position in the Vietnamese market, as well as stay highly committed to supporting the dynamic country in leading the digital transformation and embracing opportunities from Industry 4.0.
