New mission of the ICT industry Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung says Vietnam’s information and communications technology (ICT) industry has a rare opportunity to reposition itself. If the ICT industry continues to focus on assembly, processing and outsourcing, he said at a conference reviewing 2020 developments and presenting tasks for 2021, it would stagnate. However, if it adopts the “Make in Vietnam” strategy for the development of Vietnam’s digital technology enterprises, mastering technology, designing, renovating and producing in Vietnam, it would spur the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth by two to four times. The “Make in Vietnam” strategy will also turn Vietnam into a prosperous, developed and high-income country by 2045. The belief is further strengthened by data showing that Vietnam currently ranks second in the world in manufacturing phones and components, and 10th in manufacturing electronics and components. These are also two of Vietnam’s 10 main export products, making the ICT industry the largest export and trade surplus sector of the economy. In early 2020, the prime minister issued Instruction 01/CT-TTg on promoting the development of digital technology enterprises in Vietnam. By the end of the year, over 13,000 digital enterprises have been set up, a yearly increase of 28 percent, raising the total to more than 58,000 businesses. The target of 100,000 digital enterprises by 2030 appears feasible by 2025. Notably, Vietnam has been able to rapidly develop digital products to contend with Covid-19 and adapt to a new normal, from Ncovi, Bluezone, CoMeet apps for contact tracing and online meetings to online learning platforms, remote medical consulting and remote accounting and business management platforms. “Perhaps Vietnam is the world leader in designing digital platforms during the Covid period. We would not have been able to do so had we not mastered these technologies,” Minister Nguyen Manh Hung …
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