Workshop seeks to boost Vietnam’s digital economic development

At a workshop themed “Policy Aspects for Vietnam Digital Economic Development”, jointly held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the World Bank Group in Hanoi, he described cyber security and its crucial role in protecting online customers as important factors to develop Vietnam’s digital economy.

Enhancing digital skills for local residents should be priorities in the Government’s policies to ensure that equal opportunities from the digital economy are offered to all, the official suggested, adding that the education system must be improved to well meet the market requirements.

According to Dang Hoang Hai, head of the MoIT’s Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, Vietnam has a total population of more than 96 million people, 64 million of whom get access to the Internet and 57 percent of the population have social accounts.

Last year, e-commerce grew 30 percent with a total revenue from retail sale reaching 8 billion USD, and the figure is expected to surge to 13-15 billion USD, Hai said.

Meanwhile, Natasha Beschorner, Senior Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy Specialist at the World Bank’s Global ICT Department, said that digital economy does not mean Internet access only, but it must integrate digital services of both Government and businesses, especially as cash is still the most common and credible means of payment in Vietnam.

Also, she said that the Government should prioritise policies to promote online transactions and tax services to branch out the logistics sector, which plays an important part in the digital economy.

Favourable policies will decide the growth and the quality of the digital economic development in Vietnam, she added.