Speakers at a conference on digital transformation – Faster, Smarter, and Greener held in Hanoi. (Photo courtesy of VIR) Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong made the statementat a conference on digital transformation – Faster, Smarter, and Greener heldin Hanoi on March 21.
The National Digital Transformation Programme for 2025, with a vision to 2030,emphasised three main focus points, including digital government, digitaleconomy, and digital society.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, in 2022, the totalrevenue of Vietnam's IT and telecommunications (ICT) industry reached about 148billion USD, and the digital economy reached 14.26% of GDP.
To achieve the goal that, by 2025, the digital economy will account for 20% ofGDP under its rapid development scenario. Vietnam needs to maintain averageannual digital economic growth of about 20%, more than three times theprojected GDP growth.
Phuong said that after some decades of rapid growth, Vietnam has beenstruggling with major challenges affecting its economic development, which haveslowed growth. The economy based on cheap labour and natural resources is not acompetitive advantage anymore, there is a risk of falling into themiddle-income trap, and the population is aging.
"These challenges require Vietnam to find new growth models and enginesfor the economy. In this context, the nation has approached opportunities fromthe Fourth Industrial Revolution and the rapid development of digitaltechnologies," he said.
“In the process of formulating strategies and master plans for socio-economicdevelopment, the Ministry of Planning and Investment always cooperates withministries, branches, and localities to integrate tasks and solutions to applythe achievements of Industry 4.0 into perspectives, goals, and solutions topromote innovation in growth models,” he added.
In October 2021, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued Decision No 1658/QD-TTgapproving the National Strategy on Green Growth for the 2021-30 period, with avision to 2050, which highlighted increasing green growth with investment intoadvanced technology, digital transformation, smart and sustainableinfrastructure, all as an impetus for private investment to play anincreasingly important role in the green economy.
“The requirement for digital transformation and green growth is a big challengefor the nation and its businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises,”the deputy minister said.
Denis Brunetti, chairman of Ericsson in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmarsaid each country and market has its own way and plan, and Vietnam is highlyappreciated as one of the most dynamic and attractive destinations in the worldthanks to a rapidly growing digital economy and a strategy focused on digitaltransformation across the country.
“Ericsson fully supports this and is committed to helping Vietnam achieve thisimportant vision,” he said.
“We are proud to be Vietnam's long-term, trusted, and valuable strategicpartner, and always share our global insights, expertise, and experience here.The future of the ICT industry is digital, and we are committed to working withVietnam's government in accelerating digital transformation across all economicsectors through 4G and 5G, as well as 6G in the future,” he added.
He also acknowledged the importance of 5G-enabled digital transformation as akey factor in improving labour productivity and efficiency in all industries,especially in manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, and energy.
Urs KLOETI, Factory Manager, Nestle Vietnam Ltd said Nestle’s approach ondigital transformation within operations in Vietnam and globally is, totranslate this external view of technology trends into meaningful opportunityareas, which are well understood and against which we are able to identifysavings and/or growth opportunities.
“Also, in Nestle, digital transformation is not just about technology. It isalso about people. In Nestlé, digital transformation helps to connect employeesacross all levels in the organisation more productively and autonomously,” hesaid.
He added they have built some organisational networks from existing teamsaround each of these focus areas and now in each market to co-ordinate theidentification of pain points and to match them with the most appropriateapplication. New technologies are also identified in most cases bottom up fromthe factories/markets and these are then escalated through the teams.
At the forum, the delegates focused on discussing the trend of digitaltransformation and the three pillars of a sustainable economy – manufacturing,banking, and e-commerce. They highlighted the importance of 5G for economicgrowth and innovation, policy mechanisms to promote rapid growth andsustainable development, and practical lessons from digital transformationpioneers.
The event opened up new and practical information flows about dualtransformation trends – digital and green – in the fields of manufacturing,finance and banking, and e-commerce and logistics.
This is the second year that Vietnam Investment Review has organised theConference on Digital Transformation to create opportunities forrepresentatives of state management agencies, policymakers, experts, and bothlocal and international tech enterprises to meet and exchange information./.
VNA
