Hanoi (VNA) - Digital platforms are no longer exclusive to techcompanies, and they have become increasingly popular in other sectors as theylook to enhance their competitiveness.

These comments were heard at a seminar on the application of a digital platformeconomy in Hanoi this week.

The seminar was co-organised by the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research(VEPR) and UPGen Vietnam.

Vietnam has been adapting to the development of the global economy as well asscience and technology in recent years, but the country is still facing issuessuch as laws, cyber security and privacy, as well as a shortage of expert ITstaff. Vietnamese management agencies remain “confused” about new transportmodels such as Grab and Be, the seminar heard.

Tran Thanh Hai, former CEO of Be Group, said the market is very competitive andthe key issues why Be is struggling to compete with Grab are policies andcapital.

The country's technology start-up environment is facing many shortcomings, fromthe legal framework to service sectors, because technology always developsfaster than the legal framework, Hai said.

Vietnam has many policies to promote digital platforms to support businesses,however, these policies have handed the advantage to foreign businesses,creating unfair competition, he noted.

Agreeing with Hai, Do Hoai Nam, UPGen Chairman, said the most difficult forVietnamese tech enterprises is the ability to compete in terms of capital.

Domestic enterprises have to look at other factors, from creativity totechnology, based on the local market.

To do that, the State plays a very important role in creating a fair playingfield through legal mechanisms and frameworks, Nam noted.

The most important asset in the field of technology is a user database, Haisaid.

Users are employing foreign services every day and they are exploiting ratherthan investing in the Vietnamese market, he said.

Therefore, domestic enterprises need their own data because this is a nationalresource, he emphasised.

He said the State needs a mechanism to control data resources, while domesticenterprises must focus on investing in technology and avoid dependence onservices supplied by foreign tech corporations.

Nguyen Duc Thanh, VEPR Director, emphasised that firstly, domestic digitalplatforms must become more competitive.

This is also the strategy many countries are using to create a digital platformecosystem, where cooperation and co-creation are connected, said Thanh./.