What does Vietnam need do to switch to a successful digital economy?

By 2030, Vietnam will become a developing, upper-middle-income country with modern industry and a high-income developed country by 2045. To realize the goal, the economy must switch to a digital model.

The digital model requires upgrades of technical facilities, information technology and network systems.

Thus, the first task is to digitize data and operational processes that make the public and internal networks synchronized. The training of a contingent of high-tech people is necessary to meet that requirement.

Each enterprise needs to have an adequate investment to adapt to the digital economy.

Vietnamese experts are discussing about Hanoi-based VNPT managed security service. Photo: VNPT Group

Given the high penetration of smartphone in the country, ensuring security and safety of systems is another task for building a digital society. Especially, counterfeit and fake goods as well as cheating on e-commerce sites have discouraged many people to be more engaged in digital economy, some are even skeptical about the quality and efficiency of the digital economy.

To gain consumers trust in online transactions, state agencies need to improve their sense of responsibility, tighten management in e-commerce and transactions as well as controlling acts of mobilizing capital through websites.

Besides, the coordination and recognition of results of each other between regulatory bodies is also one of the very important issues to boost the process of the digitization.

There is a need for a set of standards and requirements to manage social and economic activities in a digital state.

Human resources are considered a core component of the digital economy. Are Vietnamese human resources qualified to respond to digital economy development?

In fact, the current human resource for Vietnam's digital economy is both redundant and deficient. Therefore, training high-quality human resources to meet the needs of a digital economy is an urgent requirement.

Training should be designed differently for software developers and hardware makers and for those who apply them at work or at home, so that we have a workforce with high expertise, good techniques, especially professional ethics.

Only then Vietnam can develop successfully a secure digital economy.

Dinh Trong Thinh, a Vietnamese economist. Photo: daibieunhandan.vn

Is investment in human resources to produce core technology products under the “Make in Vietnam” campaign a mandatory requirement?

Correctly. There are many different requirements, such as infrastructure, technical facilities, people and machinery. This requires the synchronization of the whole economy to meet the digitization process.

If we rely on imported machinery and equipment, not only we cannot meet the timely and accurate requirements of digital activities in the economy, but also unsafe problems may arise in terms of digital and economic security.

Is the recent congestion on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange evidence of a lack of human resources in the information technology sector or is it a deficiency of ability to meet the requirements?

This shows that the country may not bring into full play the potential of the scientific and technological strength. Because some national businesses have been able to build similar systems themselves, maybe smaller on the Hanoi Stock Exchange or take part in building such system in the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.

But the problem is that instead of believing in the capacity of Vietnamese human resources, we place our trust on everything imported from abroad. 

It is necessary to create conditions for domestic enterprises to implement or cooperate with each other. Then, it will build a production chain attached with “Vietnamese values” that helps ensure the process of digitization in Vietnam actively.

Thank you for your time!