New opportunities and chances to develop Vietnam's digital economy and digital society

Attractive destination

Overcoming numerous difficulties caused by natural disasters and epidemics, Vietnam has made encouraging progress in digital economy and digital society.

According to the report "Southeast Asia's Digital Economy 2019" conducted by Google, Temasek and Bain, Vietnam's digital economy in 2019 was worth 12 billion USD, 4 times higher than the value in 2015 and is expected to reach 43 billion USD by 2025. Thanks to the digital economy, business sectors have become more vibrant, from e-commerce, online advertising on social networking sites (Facebook, Instagram), entertainment (Netflix, Pinterest), transportation (Uber, Grab, GoViet) to distribution, wholesale and retail (Lazada, Shopee)... Specifically, the size of the e-commerce market is about 5 billion USD, while online tourism is about 4 billion USD, online media is 3 billion USD, and technology ride-hailing is about 1 billion USD. Our country has also become the third largest recipient of investment capital in the region for companies operating on information technology and internet platforms; with 0.35 billion USD for 137 deals in 2018 and 0.26 billion USD for 54 deals in 2019. A number of investment deals in MoMo, Sendo, Topica from international investors have contributed to making Vietnam an attractive destination for both domestic and foreign investors.

Vietnam has also seen many positive changes in building e-Government, contributing to creating a foundation for the development of the digital economy and digital society. Minister and Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said that the Government Office has presided over, together with ministries, branches, localities, information technology corporations, and experts, focusing on implementing many important tasks and solutions with specific results to promote the digital economy and digital society in Vietnam. Specifically:1- National document interconnection axisInaugurated on March 12, 2019, by the end of December 2020, it had connected and interconnected the sending and receiving of electronic documents between 95/95 central and local agencies; more than 3.6 million electronic documents were sent and received via the Axis, helping to save over 1,200 billion VND/year.2- With the Information System serving meetings and handling Government work (e-Cabinet), the cost saved when using the System is about 169 billion VND/year.3- After one year of official operationNational public service portalMore than 2,650 public services have been integrated and provided on a total of nearly 6,700 administrative procedures at 4 levels of government. The social cost saved when implementing online public services on the Portal is more than 6,700 billion VND/year.4-National reporting information system and Information Center serving the direction and administration of the Government and the Prime Ministerhas connected with 14 ministries, agencies, 37 localities and 106/200 socio-economic indicators. The cost savings when operating this system is about 460 billion VND/year.

The Ministry of Information and Communications said that so far, more than 23 million people have used technology applications to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In the education sector, there are 53,000 schools, 1.4 million teachers, and 23 million students. 80% of students studied online during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher than the average of 67.15% of countries.

However, the level of proactive participation in developing our country's digital economy is still limited and somewhat spontaneous. Institutions and policies still have many shortcomings. The structure and quality of human resources have not met the requirements. Science, technology and innovation are not really the driving force for socio-economic development; the national innovation system has just been formed and is not yet synchronous and effective. The national digital transformation process is still slow and lacks initiative due to limited infrastructure serving the digital transformation process; many businesses are still passive, and their capacity to access, apply and develop modern technology is still low. The digital economy is still small in scale. The fight against crime and ensuring cyber security still face many challenges.

New opportunities and chances to develop digital economy and digital society in Vietnam

In early January 2021, the 13th Party Congress unanimously passed the Resolution of the Congress, clearly affirming the promotion of research, transfer, application of scientific and technological advances, innovation, especially achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, implementing national digital transformation, developing the digital economy, improving productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy.

Speaking at the Congress, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized that it is necessary to strongly innovate the growth model, restructure the economy, industrialize and modernize the country, focus on innovation, promote national digital transformation, and develop the digital economy and digital society.

Previously, in September 2019, the Politburo issued Resolution 52-NQ/TW on a number of policies and strategies to proactively participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It clearly stated the urgent need to accelerate the digital transformation process.

In June 2020, the Prime Minister issued the National Digital Transformation Program to 2025, with a vision to 2030. Accordingly, Vietnam is among the few countries in the world that have promptly issued a national digital transformation strategy, a strategy for a digital nation. With the very high goals set out in the Program, it is necessary to strive hard to achieve them, such as: By 2025, the digital economy accounts for 20% of GDP; by 2030, it accounts for 30% of GDP; 50% of the population has an electronic payment account by 2025 and by 2030, it is 30% of the population...

To implement this, the Prime Minister requested that heads of agencies, organizations and enterprises commit to innovating, applying new technologies, and promoting the development of creative industries. The Prime Minister also allowed the acceptance of testing of digital products, solutions, services, and business models while legal regulations are not yet complete and clear. The Government also requested relevant ministries and functional branches to research and immediately propose specific policies and regulations on taxes and fees to be submitted to competent authorities for approval to encourage people and businesses to use and provide digital services.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that, to transform digitally, Vietnam can choose a 3-step strategy: Step one, accelerate the digitalization of fields and industries, accelerate digital transformation of the government, digital transformation of enterprises, digital transformation in society, to increase operational efficiency, increase labor productivity and create new growth opportunities. Step two, use digitalization as a competitive advantage domestically and globally. Step three, move towards a comprehensive digital economy, all fields are digitized, forming new generation digital industries, these new industries will be the growth engine for the economy. At the same time, every country that wants to develop and rise up must arouse the spiritual strength of the nation.Digital revolution, industrial revolution 4.0If this happens, the future will not be an extension of the past. Countries like Vietnam have the opportunity to break through. But it must be a new way of thinking, not traditional, not sequential.

Many experts believe that Vietnam possesses a huge advantage in human resources with intelligent and hard-working nature and with the consistent policies that the Party and Government have issued in the past and in the coming time, which are favorable conditions for the development of the digital economy and digital society. Therefore, more than ever, while the COVID-19 pandemic is still complicated, it is necessary to create a wave and national momentum for digital economic development, which can start right from this spring of Tan Suu.

This is a new opportunity, a new chance for the development of the digital economy and digital society, turning our country into a digital nation soon, creating advantages in global competition, and making an important contribution to Vietnam's breakthrough in socio-economic development./.