Digital economy set to make up 30 percent of Vietnam’s GDP by 2030
	Vietnam digital economy expected to contribute 20 percent of GDP by 2025
	Vietnam News Today: Facebook’s campaign to assist Vietnam in digital economy

Vietnam Aims to Boost Digital Economy to 20% of GDP in Four Years, Says Bloomberg. (Photo: Nhan Dan)

Vietnam, which has one of the smallest e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia, is in a hurry to catch up, said Bloomberg in an article published on August 12.

Hanoi wants the digital economy to represent 20% of Vietnam’s gross domestic product by 2025, the government website reported, citing a draft decision by the prime minister. The National Party Congress, which meets every five years, has set a target for the digital sector to make up 30% of GDP by 2030, the article reads.

"It’s an ambitious reach: Vietnam’s digital economy currently accounts for just 8.2% of GDP, the news website VietnamNet reported in July, citing a Ministry of Information and Communications official. Euromonitor International estimates e-commerce represented a mere 3% of Vietnam’s retail market last year, the smallest slice among Southeast Asia’s major economies."

Online shopping's slice of total retail in Southeast Asia in 2020 (Photo: Bloomberg)

According to the article, Vietnamese officials want 80% of the population to have online payment accounts by 2025, according to the government’s post. That’s also when they want half of the e-commerce transactions -- many of which are still conducted in cash -- to go cashless.

The government isn’t alone in wanting change. Vietnam’s young and tech-savvy population -- more than half of the 98 million citizens own smartphones -- is attracting foreign tech investors, including Warburg Pincus LLC, Goodwater Capital LLC, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

There is no unified definition of the digital economy in the world, but most understand the digital economy as an economy based on digital technology and digital platforms, with economic activities on and by digital technology and digital platforms, created from the application of digital technology and digital data, using the Internet as an operating space.

Major Southeast Asia Internet economies by value (Photo: Bloomberg)

The digital economy consists of 3 components: ICT digital economy, internet digital economy, digital economy of industries. The digital economy opens up a new growth space, helps improve the competitiveness of the economy, and is the core driving force for national economic growth, and contributes to solving socio-economic problems, according to VietnamNet.

In the Asia-Pacific region, in 2017 the digital economy accounted for about 6% of GDP, but in 2019 it made up 25% of GDP, and with the current complicated Covid-19 pandemic, it is predicted that by 2021 the digital economy may account for more than 60% of the GDP of this region. Internet digital economy and digital economy for industries have great potential for development.

Between 2016 and the first half of 2020, investors funneled $1.9 billion into Vietnam’s online sector, according to a study by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Temasek Holdings Pte and Bain & Co. showed. The country’s digital economy is forecast to grow to $52 billion by 2025 from 2020, expanding nearly 30% per year, according to the same study.

South China Morning Post: Vietnam is a promising market for e-commerce With a developing economy and a population of over 97 million in 2020, Vietnam is a promising market for e-commerce.

Vietnam’s digital economy to reach $52 billion by 2025 Vietnam’s digital economy will likely reach $52 billion in value by 2025, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2019 report by Google, Temasek and Bain & ...

Vietnam’s e-commerce to reach 52 billion USD in value by 2025 Vietnam’s e-commerce is growing rapidly and is expected to hit 52 billion USD in value by 2025.