Hanoi will draw resources from the private sector to become an innovation hub of Vietnam, said Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Science and Technology Nguyen Khac Su.

Su said Hanoi’s innovation landscape will certainly change when enterprises become interested in the field of science and technology development and become the largest investors, instead of the government.

Currently, 33 businesses in Hanoi have jointly created a fund for science and technology development. In 2019 alone, they have raised more than VND2 trillion (US$86.9 million), as half as the total money Hanoi has spent on science and technology over the past five years, Su cited.

This is a huge resource for sci-tech development. Therefore, it is necessary to tap into such resources, Su stressed.

He added that in order to turn Hanoi into a national and regional innovation startup center from now to 2025, the city will develop specific policies in promoting technology transfer, mastering new technologies, and supporting innovation activities of enterprises.

“First of all, the policies will focus on promoting the application and transfer of new technologies, deploying new economic models, supporting innovative start-ups, attracting investment resources for science, technology, and innovation," Su said.

Pioneering role

An overview of Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi. Photo: Hoang Giang

The Hanoi Business Incubator and Information Technology (HBI-IT) under the municipal Department of Information and Communication become operational in January 2017 with the aim of promoting projects and develop innovative startup ecosystems. This is the latest driven by Hanoi authorities to make the city an innovation hub of the country.

According to Vu Tan Cuong, Director of the HBI-IT, the center has been focusing on drawing foreign funding for projects incubated here. 

In addition, the National Innovation Center (NIC) in Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park of Hanoi is one of the creative centers shaping the city as an innovation hub. The NIC is hoped to become the nucleus for promoting Vietnamese economic development based on science, technology, and innovation in the future.

Besides these two initiatives, Hanoi’s government has also implemented many programs to support enterprises to renew technology, research and develop new products, improve production processes, apply quality management systems, and promote innovation.

The Hanoi government supports policies to facilitate local businesses in innovation. Photo: VinSmart

In an interview with The Hanoi Times, Director of the municipal Department of Science and Technology Nguyen Hong Son said that in terms of science and technology, Hanoi has three advantages which would be hugely beneficial for private enterprises if they could tap into them. 

Firstly, the city has the strongest sci-tech infrastructure with the largest contribution to the national science and technology potential.

Secondly, Hanoi pours the largest investment nationwide into science, technology, and innovation, with finance sourced from the state and the municipal budgets and big conglomerates. 

Thirdly, Hanoi leads the country in the outputs of sci-tech research. Hanoi’s international publications in 2019 reached about 5,000 out of a total of more than 12,000 nationwide.

According to the municipal People's Committee, Hanoi has gained outstanding achievements compared to other localities, especially, 100% of pilot production projects and over 85% of research results after acceptance have been applied into practice.

Efforts to turn Hanoi’s sci-tech products into commodities coupled with increasing demand for technology trading are expected to create a favorable environment for businesses to invest in technological innovation, helping the city improve competitiveness in the context of integration, contributing to the city’s rapid and sustainable economic development.