Vietnam’s internet economy was valued at about US$ 21 billion in 2021, contributing 5% to the GDP and a seven-fold increase from 2015. It is expected to reach US$57 billion by 2025 and rank second in Southeast Asia. An industry expert at a recent summit on digital transformation noted that the size of the Internet economy last year showed that despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts, digital transformation projects generated strong growth for the digital economy. In the post-pandemic scenario, Vietnam has the opportunity to further this growth by applying and developing technology-driven applications and platforms.
A digital economy report showed that in 2019, the information technology digital economy accounted for about 4.5% of the global GDP, about 6.9% of the US and 7% of China’s GDP. For Vietnam, the ICT digital economy is estimated to account for about 5.5% of the country’s GDP, with a revenue of about $123 billion. The government has set a target for the digital economy to contribute 20% of GDP by 2025 and the proportion of the digital economy in each industry or field to reach at least 10%. To achieve this, the entire political system and IT and software enterprises must collaborate. Tech firms should create secure and advanced digital transformation platforms and solutions and continue developing products based on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain. They should assist agencies, organisations, and businesses nationwide to carry out digital transformation, a press release stated.
The two-day summit was held in Hanoi and attended by over 150 international and domestic digital experts. It provided an overall view of digital transformation in Vietnam, enabled the sharing of information and experiences, and introduced technological models and solutions to help accelerate digitisation in the country. Participants looked into issues relevant to the digital government, digital economy, and digital enterprises. There were also two panel discussions where representatives from 11 regional countries shared experience in the field. An exhibition on digital transformation solutions also took place at the event.
In April, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) reported that Vietnam’s digital economy revenue reached US$ 53 billion in the first quarter of 2022. The Internet digital economy’s growth rate was 28%, reaching US$8 billion in revenues. The ICT digital economy and digital economy of industries each had average revenue growth rates of about 15%. By the end of February, the number of newly-established digital technology enterprises reached 65,329, an increase of 487 enterprises compared to 2021.
Regarding the e-government, as of April, the National Public Service Portal integrated 3,552 online public services, creating favourable conditions for people and businesses. In the first quarter of this year, the portal registered more than 167,000 accounts, synchronised over 14 million records, and clocked 163,000 online payment transactions worth US$15.9 million. Further, earlier this year, the country deployed a nationwide electronic invoice system and, according to the tax authority, it has currently received and processed 77.7 million e-invoices. MIC’s report also revealed that human resource training for digital transformation has been a government priority. Nearly 1,000 officials and civil servants have been trained so far. About 10,000 government personnel are expected to be trained by October.
