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Vietnam has great potential for digital development. Photo: Nguyen Thanh.

Open opportunities

According to Mr. Ousmane Dione, the World Bank Country Director for Vietnam: The digital development has been changing the economies around the world with dizzying speed. In 2016, the global digital economy was worth US$ 11.5 trillion, accounting for about 15.5% of global GDP. This rate is expected to reach 25% in less than a decade. Currently, six of the world's top ten companies are technology companies, of which Apple was the world's first US$1 trillion company

Regarding the digital economy development in Vietnam, Mr. Dang Hoang Hai, Director of the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that in 2018, e-commerce will grow by 30% with total revenue from retail reaching US$ 8 billion. It is expected that this figure will reach US$ 13-15 billion by 2020. Currently, there are more than 96 million people, 64 million internet users; 57% of the population have social network accounts.

Mr. Ousmane Dione shared that technology is breaking out right here in Vietnam. “In the short time since I came to Hanoi, I have seen a strong development of the digital economy, initially focusing on some services. For example, the number of car services based on digital technology are growing rapidly; the development of e-commerce platforms compete directly with traditional retail networks, and the development of digital platforms is increasingly playing an important role in the tourism industry by competing with traditional hotels in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Hoi An …, ” said Mr. Ousmane Dione.

According to Mr. Ousmane Dione, this vibrant digital economy promises that there will be more and more small, medium and micro enterprises participating in Vietnam's economy. This is because e-commerce platforms take small, medium and micro enterprises to big markets (both domestic and foreign) and shorten the distance to the market, especially for companies far away in big cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang and Hai Phong.

According to Ms. Natasha Beschorner – World Bank’s senior expert on information technology policy, Vietnam is in the area where both the digital market and digital enterprises have the potential for rapid growth. However, the digital economy is not just using the internet, it is important to integrate and apply digital services of the Government and businesses.

Create a favorable legal environment

Looking around at the situation of digital economy development in Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung, said that the digital economy allows enterprises in the region to join the global marketplace, is consistent with the long-term trend toward market liberalization and reducing trade barriers. On the other hand, the Government, enterprises and people also face many challenges in realizing the potential benefits of the digital economy such as: weak infrastructure; poor technology adaptability; inappropriate accompanying development skills; socio-economic barriers; issues related to trust, security and transparency, limited knowledge of differences in access and adaptation to the technology of people in different countries.

Ms. Natasha Beschorner added that, “For Vietnam, digital policies and regulations and the promotion of online transactions and tax services are concerns of the Government and enterprises. A facilitating environment will determine the speed and quality of digital economic development and benefits for the people ”.

According to Mr. Ousmane Dione, by creating a favorable legal environment, the Government can promote the digital economy development effectively. “I am happy to see the policies of the Government of Vietnam increasingly focused on breakthrough technology and the digital economy in the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The Government should take the lead by going ahead and becoming more digital themselves. This means not only integrating systems into an integrated "whole Government" platform, but also providing digital service platforms to support enterprises and reduce transaction time and costs.

Online licensing and approval of licenses are a great example of such digital services. Initiatives such as national digital citizen card can directly bring benefits to other areas of the digital economy. The World Bank has supported Vietnam’s Government in some areas such as helping the State Bank to build an electronic payment system, supporting the design of comprehensive digital administrative reforms (together with the Government Office and relevant agencies), to promote digital technology in administrative reform and enable digital service supply and improve management efficiency through better sharing and using information among government agencies,” noted Ousmane Dione.

Some experts pointed out that the digital economy is multi-disciplinary, which involves many different areas such as finance, manufacturing, health, education, transport, logistics, tourism, hotels and food, etc. Therefore, to improve competitiveness, Vietnam needs to build a legal environment that encourages innovation and competition, while protecting consumers through more effective operation and cooperation among Government agencies.

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From the perspective of a state management agency, Deputy Minister Cao Quoc Hung emphasized that the Ministry of Industry and Trade evaluated the development and revision of policies to support the digital economy development as a key task in the coming time.