VCCI Chair Vu Tien Loc cited a recent survey by Harvard University as saying that Vietnam is one of the five sides of the rising star in the digital technology world. The other four sides include India, Brazil, China and the Philippines.

However, though digital technology wave has been developing strongly, Vietnam’s readiness for ‘digital opportunity’ is very low.

Loc commented that Vietnam’s economy and small & medium enterprises are standing in front of the integration of two waves – institutional reform and digital technology. And if they can take full advantage of the opportunity, they will be able to develop.

Vietnam has great potential in developing digital technology but it has not been able to achieve a great deal because of a lack of digital readiness.

There are important indicators showing that the digital economy in Vietnam is taking shape. About 50 percent of the population use the internet.

Vietnam has the highest ICT industry and mobile phone growth rate in the region and the world. About 43 percent of Vietnamese learn about products and make decisions through online ads.

Meanwhile, Dau Anh Tuan, head of the legal department, cited a VCCI’s report as saying that 95 percent of Vietnamese businesses used internet in 2015. The enterprises which can effectively utilize information technology can easily access information about policies and laws, and have better business results.

State agencies, when providing public administrative services can also provide information and services better and shorten the time for businesses to follow administrative procedures.

However, the report pointed out that ineffective use of ICT still accounted for 59 percent, while only 35 percent used services to support businesses technologically.

Tammy Phan from Google Asia Pacific confirmed that Vietnam is one of the leading nations in the world in the number of mobile phone users. Once the number of mobile phone users increases by 1 percent, Vietnam would have $100 more million in GDP by 2020 and 140,000 new jobs.

The representative from Google said that 8 Vietnamese out of every 10 people will use mobile phone by 2020.

When they are online on smartphones, 59 percent access social networks, 56 percent use search engine, 54 percent watch online videos, 43 percent listen to music, 23 percent look for information about services and products and 6 percent buy products and services.

However, despite important advantages, Vietnam’s readiness for the digital economy is still low. A report showed that in 2015, Vietnam ranked 85th among 143 economies in readiness.

Vietnamnet.vn