Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam should be well-positioned with 🅷its sound technicalinfrastructure to boost its digital economy, Assoc. Prof. Yen Tran, lecturer on innovation and international startup at the University of EdinburghBusiness School, has said.

Given smart connectivity and the exploitation of digital database being keyfactors for the digital economy, Yen highlighted that Vietnam shouldgive top priority to technical infrastructure, provide broadbandinternet, build database centres, as well as develop many other importanttechnology components towards the popular use of robot and Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Big data and AI should be capitalised on to developVietnam’s banking, Fintech, branchless banking, ride sharing, tourism,communications, health care and smart city on the sharing economic models, Yensaid, adding these areas hold great potential for the development ofbreakthrough business models which target untapped customers. A Temasek’s report in 2018 showed that Vietnam’s Internet economy accounted for only 4% of its gross domestic product (GDP), and the figure is expected toincrease to 25% by 2025. Meanwhile, WeAreSocial and Hootsuite’s report in 2019stated that 48% of the Vietnamese population used mobile phone to access theinternet, 62% of whom used social networks and 10% accessed online bankingservices. Yen suggested that the Vietnamese Government should work to ensure the commonuse of smart phones, which plays a pivotal role in digital economicdevelopment. Highlighting that the digital economy will bring opportunities to get access toand share information and knowledge with the community, Yen said the VietnameseGovernment should improve technology capacity and invest big in human resourcesso as to be able to develop business and innovation ability. She affirmed that the Internet has an important role to play in the digitaleconomy’s infrastructure, adding it is necessary for the governmentto complete the law on cybersecurity and to enhance the enforcement of the law aswell as the training of human resources in the fields to prevent and handle onlinescams and private data leaks./.