These factors prove that Vietnam has great potential to develop a digital economy, but also face lots of challenges that need to be identified to have timely solutions, workshop participants said.  

They agreed that the digital economy should be viewed more broadly, which covers diverse activities ranging from e-commerce to digital media, online advertising, software, telecommunications services, and financial technology.

In the process, Blockchain, Bigdata, or IoT are supporting the transformation of traditional business models and creating innovation and growth opportunities.

Nguyen Huu Tuan, Head of the E-commerce Operations Management Section, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that Vietnam’s internet economy includes four sectors: e-commerce, transport and food, online travel and media, and online advertising.

“Based on that classification, Vietnam's e-commerce is in the top 5 fastest growing countries in the world. But that is only in regards of speed while the value remains very small. Last year, Vietnam earned 23 billion USD and is expected to gain 49 billion USD by 2025,” said Tuan.

Participants added that identifying the potential of the digital economy and its impacts is an effective way for Vietnamese policymakers to soon address the pending issues in information security, technology infrastructure, and human resources to make the digital economy contribute more to the overall national growth.