Expectations for Vietnam's Digital Economic Growth
	Digital Economic Development Rate in Vietnam is Fastest Among Southeast Asian Countries

The digital technology industry has been identified by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam as a foundational sector for driving the digital transformation revolution.

A production line of Vietnamese technology equipment products.

In 2024, Vietnam’s total revenue from the digital technology industry is estimated to reach US $152 billion, marking a 35.7% increase compared to 2019. The domestic value contribution to the industry’s total revenue has risen to 31.8%, up from 21.35% in 2019. The total workforce in the sector stands at 1.67 million, a 67% increase from 2019, with 54,500 enterprises currently operating.

In 2023, Vietnam achieved global recognition with five top-ranking digital technology products: second globally in smartphone exports, fifth in computer component exports, sixth in computer equipment exports, eighth in electronic component exports, and seventh in software outsourcing.

To advance the digital technology industry, on June 8, the National Assembly passed a resolution to include the draft Law on Digital Technology Industry in the law and ordinance-making program for 2025. A draft of the law has already been released by the Ministry of Information and Communications to gather feedback from agencies, organizations, and businesses.

The draft Digital Technology Industry Law consists of 8 chapters and 73 articles. It outlines numerous provisions on concepts and principles for digital assets, AI, the semiconductor industry, and controlled experiment mechanisms (a sandbox), among other things. The proposed law aims to affirm the legal status of the digital technology industry while establishing regulations and policies to drive its development.

Nguyen Minh Hang, a representative of the drafting committee, stated that the Digital Technology Industry Law is being developed to affirm the legal value of the digital technology industry while proposing breakthrough policies to drive development and mitigate risks that may arise in the industry’s operations. This legal framework will also promote the smart industrialization of various sectors by incorporating digital technology, bringing new value, and creating a revolution in smartening.

The Law on Digital Technology Industry seeks to strongly promote the sector as a major contributor to the national economy, providing an enabling environment to nurture digital technology enterprises. The law outlines a transition from assembly and outsourcing toward innovation, design, integration, production, and mastery of core technologies in Vietnam. This effort is expected to contribute to building a digital government and serve as a key driver for developing the digital economy and society.

The draft Law on Digital Technology Industry will create a legal framework to promote the development of the industry.

The draft law emphasizes essential elements for the comprehensive development of the digital technology industry, including research and development of digital technologies, development of digital technology infrastructure, fostering a comprehensive digital technology ecosystem, promoting digital technology enterprises and products, establishing technical standards and regulations, and building a skilled digital technology workforce.

Regarding incentive policies, the law provides preferential treatment for digital technology industry activities, aligning with existing regulations on investment, taxation, credit, and high-tech industries.

It also introduces targeted incentives for specific projects within the sector, prioritizing key products, software, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, data processing and storage centers, digital technology research and development centers, and technology transfer initiatives.

In addition, the drafting committee will continue close coordination with ministries overseeing amendments to related laws, such as the Corporate Income Tax Law and Investment Law. This effort aims to ensure the highest, most focused, and impactful incentives for special and large-scale projects in the digital technology industry while avoiding legal overlaps and inconsistencies.

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Expectations for Vietnam's Digital Economic Growth Vietnam's digital economic development rate in 2023 continues to increase by 19%, recording the highest in Southeast Asia and three times higher than the GDP ...