In 2024, Vietnam's digital economy saw a major uptick in interest in artificial intelligence (AI).

Vietnam can unlock the digital economy across sectors through the effective use of AI-powered solutions.

The growth of Vietnam's esports market is highlighted in the Vietnam Esports White Book 2022-2023, which outlines global trends.

The Hanoi Times - Germany-based business software solutions provider, SAP, has launched its latest Business Suite 7 product and enterprise resource planning in the Vietnamese language version, saying it will help local businesses optimise performance and reduce IT costs.

The Hanoi Times - According to recent surveys, Vietnam is o­ne of the top countries for software outsourcing and for the cheapest software outsourcing costs. However, its IT competitiveness has not improved.

The Hanoi Times - Two leading telecommunication, VNPT and Viettel, should devise development strategies to make the country become a powerful country in IT, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has said.Speaking at meeting between the Cabinet Office and representatives from Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and the Military Telecom Corporation (Viettel) March 13, the PM asked VNPT and Viettel to concentrate o­n specific strategies.The most important needs are to create clearer goals and strategies, as well as building human resources and organizing suitable management systems.The government will consider and solve propositions and petitions from Viettel and VNPT so that they can successfully carry out their strategies.VNPT and Viettel should give more independence to their subsidiaries in order to help them operate more effectively and efficiently.For investment, the two companies should find suitable methods to invite bids and chose contractors in order to hasten investment progress of telecom projects.The PM emphasized that the two companies should deploy telecom services and build infrastructure for e-government more quickly.They also should enhance quality of services, technology and investment.The Cabinet Office and the PM recognized that two companies have overcome many difficulties to gain strong positions in the market. Viettel and VNPT have contributed to economic and social development, especially in building infrastructure.In other news, the same day, the Cabinet Office met with the Vietnam Rubber Group.At the meeting, the PM said that the group must be the core and main force in the development of the rubber industry.PM Dung said that rubber industry is an advantage for Vietnam because rubber trees are suitable for the climate and soil of the country. Growing rubber trees brings high productivity that has contributed in eliminating hunger, reducing poverty and positively serving the progress of rural and agricultural industrialization.The PM directed the group to start transferring rubber companies to limited liability companies, the first step in privatization. When the economic climate is favorable they will be fully privatized.The group was urged to establish specific projects in using support funds to invest in replanting rubber projects in the Central Highlands and the northeast.The government will grant capital to invest in electricity, street, schools and medical clinics to support rubber development and ensure the life of ethnic people in those regions.The PM suggested the group coordinate to conduct agreements between Vietnam Laos and Cambodia for a program to grow 100,000 hectares of rubber.

The Hanoi Times - Software companies are setting their targets o­n the domestic market in response to negative impacts at the international level.

The Hanoi Times - Scientists plan to open a museum displaying the preserved corpses of animals confiscated from poachers. The National Museum of Nature is to be opened within the next five years in Hanoi to showcase Vietnam’s native wildlife.

The Hanoi Times - Pharmaceutical enterprises which operate drugstores in compliance with Good Pharmacy Practices (GPP) are determined to adhere to their long-term business strategies despite incurring losses in the first few yearsThese firms say they believe in a roadmap from the Ministry of Health under which all hospital pharmacies and drug company-operated pharmacies must meet GPP standards by 2011 to remain in operation, with all other drugstores required to meet the standards by 2013.Opening IC Pharmacy, a 2,000sq.m GPP-compliant drugstore, in HCM City late last year, Dong Duong Pharmacy Joint Stock Co has announced its plans to develop other stores in major cities like Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, HCM City, and Can Tho by 2012, with a total capital investment of US$12 million.To meet GPP standards, drugstores must meet several strict criteria, including a minimum area of at least 10sq.m and facilities to store medicines in accordance with storage requirements printed o­n the drug labels. All medicines must also show their place of origin and have clear instructions for their use.The deputy director of the HCM City health department, Pham Khanh Phong Lan, said the development of GPP pharmacies, fuelled by the enterprises' comprehensive investment in facilities, human resources and quality management systems, has helped to make the retail pharmaceutical system more professional.As of January, HCM City was home to 131 GPP drugstores, 37 of which were being operated by pharmaceutical firms, she said.However, many of these pharmaceutical enterprises complained that GPP pharmacies were yet to compete with traditional forms of drugstores. Dong Duong Pharmacy Co marketing director Le Thi Bach Quyen said the majority of customers failed to fully comprehend the benefits of GPP pharmacies, thinking they might simply sell medicines at higher prices than traditional drugstores. She said her company was using revenues generated from other business operations to underwrite the losses generated by a newly- opened GPP drugstore.But Nguyen Anh of Eco Pharma Joint Stock Co, which owns four GPP drugstores in HCM City, said it was difficult to evaluate business performance after o­nly o­ne year in operation.Businesses opening GPP pharmacies could take full advantages of incentives for directly importing rare medicines as well as for directly distributing drugs to the stores that could help them to ensure the quality of drugs and competitive prices, Lan concluded.

The Hanoi Times - Yahoo eyes profits from its Vietnamese operation by 2011 and plans to roll out a slew of Vietnam-focused products to boost growth.Vu Minh Tri, its general director in this country, said Monday that Vietnam’s o­nline market is growing as more and more young users surfed the Internet for fun, studies and information. “Users will enjoy o­nline products targeted at them much more than international products,” he said.The Internet giant would launch o­nline services and programs to attract school students, he said.Yahoo is looking at 270,000 high school students in the country’s major cities and is collaborating with schools in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to introduce a program connecting studies with the Internet, he said.The program would end next quarter and the company would then look for partners to expand it to other places around the country, he said.Yahoo has introduced products in Vietnamese like SearchMonkey, a search engine with more detailed information, and Developer, a software development website for local engineers. It has also launched Vietnamese-version o­nline services like mail, messenger, search, blog, and Hoi va Dap (Ask and Answer) since coming into the country in 2006.Tri told Thanh Nien Daily that Yahoo sees Vietnam as among its strongest growth markets by 2010 after it achieved three-digit growth in the country last year.

The Hanoi Times - The National Hospital for Paediatrics yesterday officially presented its three state-of-the-art digital X-ray machines, made by camera and computer printer specialists Canon.

The Hanoi Times - It’s predicted that between 12-20 magnetic storms will affect Vietnam during 2009, threatening the health of magnetism-sensitive people or heart disease patients, according to Dr Ha Duyen Chau, acting head of the Global Physics Institute.The impact of magnetic storms o­n Vietnam will be even more dramatic because Vietnam lies near the equator and the effects are expected to be greater in southern Vietnam, said Mr Chau.Such storms can make victims feel tired and increase their blood pressure to abnormally high levels. Some older people may also be vulnerable to cardiac arrest.Scientists warn that o­n days when magnetic storms are to take place, people should avoid outdoor activities and drink plenty of water to prevent their blood thickening.Strong magnetic storms measured at 650nT (nano tesla) appeared in Vietnam in 2001

The Hanoi Times - Many issues relating to the wastewater and waste sectors in Vietnam were discussed during a two day conference in Ha Noi, "Challenges in wastewater and waste sectors in Vietnam" It was organized by Inwent - Capacity Building International, co-financed by the Vietnam Ministry of Construction in association with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation & Development.  “The treatment of wastewater and the environment in Vietnam has improved in recent years. Urban areas have many changes, have become more beautiful, cleaner, however wastewater and solid waste treatment  and management in urban areas and industrial zones still seems too late. That is why many cases of pollution still appear, such as contaminated rivers, canals and why dumping grounds have become so polluted,” Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan said at the conference.  “I hope that international conferences will help us to get experiences and knowledge in treating polluted environments,” Quan added. Ngo Hong Quang, Head of Technical Infrastructure Department under Ministry of Construction said that the urbanization rate in Vietnam is around 30.5 percent. The projected urbanization rate by 2010 will reach 45 percent, with about 45 million urban residents. Rapid urbanization has burdened infrastructure and the environment.  He said that current situation of urban wastewater management in Vietnam is poor as combined sewage systems are commonly used for both storm water and wastewater.  Added to this are sewage systems that were mostly built many years ago and unable to cope. Most wastewater is not treated before being discharged into rivers and the sea.  Total capacity of all existing wastewater treatment plants is o­nly 265,000 cubic meters per day and night, 10 percent of all need.  In order to overcome this situation, the government has looked for finance from counties like Japan, France and Denmark.  One recent wastewater management program in provincial towns was supported by the German government. “Besides the heavy pressure of population growth and rapid urbanization, Vietnam is facing a lack of infrastructure and investment capital. We also lack people with adequate skills and management expertise.  “The most important thing is poor awareness by authorities and community”, Quang said. Many delegates from Hanoi Urban Environment Unit suggested that government should pay attention to international cooperation because Vietnamese do not yet have experience concerning industrial waste treatment.  Domestic and overseas training courses, workshops and seminars are necessary. The government also needs to work o­n laws o­n waste management.  A representative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation & Development, Karin Kortmann, Parliamentarian State Secretary, said Germany always makes a priority in environmental issues.  At present, Germany is financing 130 investment projects in the wastewater sector, covering 39 countries, at a cost of about €1.5 billion.  Every year, about €350 million is committed for German development cooperation activities in the water and sanitation sector.  “We have worked closely with Vietnam in the environmental sector since 2002. Currently, sewage systems are being enhanced and wastewater treatment plants have been set up in six provincial areas. Two or three further provincial capitals will be added soon and landfills are being built in two cities in the country.  “At the request of Vietnam, we are also beginning to invest in industrial wastewater treatment plants. These investment projects are worth up to €200 million, of which we are providing €142 million and Vietnam is contributing €58million,” Kortmann added. In order to encourage people to work together in environmental protection, Kortmann gave a story about her hometown, Dusseldorf, which sits o­n the banks of Germany’s largest River, the Rhine. Twenty years ago, it was so polluted that it was considered chemically contaminated and biologically dead but today, even the salmon have returned to the river. Kortmann trusts that a Vietnam, with the slogan ‘Green-Clean-Beautiful,’ will be a good destination for investors and international visitors. Prof. Klaus Topfer, former Executive Director of the UN Environment Program, also talked at conference. He and many other delegates from many countries gave their opinions about how to treat wastewater and o­n waste sectors in Vietnam. The conference became a forum for Vietnamese delegates to gain experience and exchange knowledge about environmental management. Many international scientists, environmental experts, leaders of provinces and cities in the country took part in the conference.

The Hanoi Times - A new survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) finds that Vietnam ranks 61st in the world and 16th in Asia in IT industry competitiveness.

The awards were attended by the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. Do Quy Doan.

The Hanoi Times - The Ministry of Information and Communications’ decree o­n spam will save users from guerrilla marketers, Vu Quoc Khanh, head of the Viet Nam Computer Emergency Response Team said.In a developing country like Viet Nam, advertising o­n the Internet and other telecom networks is cheaper for businesses and quicker, Khanh said.But many companies have begun to abuse the system, sending spam mails, bothering users, he said.Khanh said the number of spam mails and messages have already begun to decrease since the Decree o­n Spam took effect last Monday.Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Hong Minh said the VNCERT has set up a website to co-ordinate anti-spam activities at http://antispam.vncert.gov.vn.Do Ngoc Duy Trac, Director of Operation at VNCERT, said it has determined the responsibilities and obligations of service providers, including advertising companies, Internet and telecom service providers, and digital content providers.They would have to register for a code number and agree to certain obligations, he added.The decree stipulates a penalty of VND100,000 to VND100 million ($6-6,000) for violations.

The Hanoi Times - Domestic customers will turn off the lights and take less hot showers to cope with power price hikes scheduled for next month, but businesses won’t find it so easy to save o­n the job or absorb the costs.A boarding house manager in My Dinh Zone, Tu Liem district, who introduced herself as Le Thi Ban, said she had asked her tenants to reduce electricity use to counter the new price.  Ban said she had learnt of the pending increase for some months but that would not dampen the impact when it finally came into force.  But Ban said this was not a big worry for her because she had the income from rent, but she was very concerned about her tenants, as most of them were students and had to pay about 10 percent more o­n the fee.  Ban said that she and her tenants had considered changing neon lights into compact lights to save electricity.  The new market-based electricity rates are to take effect o­n March 1 when retail prices, excluding value added tax, will average VND948.5/kWh, up 8.92 percent over last year. This has caused concern to others residents in the city.  Housewife Nguyen Thi Vinh, in Hanoi’s Nam Dong Ward, said she was not worried about the increase because she could cut down o­n the use of electricity. Her main concern was that power price increase would have ripple effects o­n other commodities.  “No o­ne can be sure that water, food and goods won’t rise following the increase,” Vinh said, recalling 2007 when prices increased across the board o­n the back of an electricity price hike.  There was a mixed message from the business community. Truong Thanh Tung, director of a business in HCM City’s District 8, said although electricity accounted for o­nly 0.05 percent of production expenses, with orders shrinking and the price of materials soaring, the increasing electricity bill would put a greater burden o­n enterprises.  However, leaders of Ha Tien No 1 Cement Company, Binh Minh Joint Stock Company and Tan Binh Electronics Company said they had no choice but to accept it. Most businesses wished Electricity of Vietnam should ensure continuous power distribution and reduce power cuts so enterprises could do business efficiently, boost production and increase profits to pay for power consumption. They asked electricity companies to inform their customers five days before a power cut, so that they could manage to overcome the problem. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has calculated that producer industries would have to pay a total of VND2.3 trillion more for electricity while an additional VND300 billion would fill the bill of the administrative sector. Officials calculated that ordinary people had to pay VND2,500 to VND32,000 (US$0.14-US$1.8) more per month for their consumption of 50-400kWh. Responding to the prediction of ripple effects of 3 percent increase to other commodities, HCM City Industry and Trade Department director Nguyen Van Lai said his department would strengthen its surveillance of customers and providers. Violators who tried to increase prices following the power hike would have to answer to the department. Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said the electricity price increase was a buffer for change next year when the electricity price would be allowed to fluctuate with the market. Furthermore, its was logical that the electricity industry should keep pace with other industries, he said.

The Hanoi Times - Vietnamobile will roll out its mobile phone services nationwide next month after finishing network installations and successful trial runs.

The Hanoi Times - Vietnamese farmers will be growing genetically modified crops by 2015, said Agricultural Genetics Institute head Le Huy Ham at a conference in Hanoi last weekSince gene-altered crop research here began in 2006, some species of plants have been grown in vitro, Ham said at the conference o­n “World Status and Achievements in Growing Genetically Modified Crops.” Rice, corn and soybeans are the focus of current Vietnamese research in the field, he said.However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development must issue regulations o­n testing and assessing the crops before such products could be officially launched here, said scientists at the conference.Coordinator Randy Hautea from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) said 25 countries in the world had grown biotech crops, including 15 developing countries, o­n 800 million hectares of land.ISAAA is a non-profit organization that works to transfer agricultural biotechnologies to the poor in developing countries.Genetically modified crops have been a subject of controversy since they were first created in the 1980s.Some experts have warned that they could be problematic for environmental reasons and could also have ill effects o­n the health of people who eat them.

The Hanoi Times - The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) announced o­n Feb. 16 that it is now providing telecom services to more than 50 million telephone subscribers.

The Hanoi Times - Computer viruses will continue to pose a grave risk to computer users, the Bach Khoa Internetwork Security Centre (BKIS) has warned.

The Hanoi Times - The Vietnam Telecom International (VTI)’s international voice calls in 2008 hit a record high of nearly 1.47 billion minutes, doubling the previous year’s figure.

The Hanoi Times - Broadband use will continue to grow strongly this year despite the global economic crisis. With demand for advanced services and technologies continuing to rise, broadband internet win would be used for watching o­nline TV and sharing data by businesses to improve their efficiency, experts said.