FPT CEO Proposes Four Key Actions to Accelerate Vietnam’s Digital Economy

FPT Corporation CEO Nguyễn Văn Khoa believes that Vietnam’s digital economy can achieve the goal of contributing 30% to GDP by 2030 if there are strong and comprehensive changes.

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Sharing with Tuổi Trẻ Online, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Khoa, CEO of FPT Corporation, stated that Google - Temasek forecasts Vietnam’s digital economy to reach USD 36 billion, up 16% compared to 2023. The Ministry of Information and Communications estimates that the digital economy will contribute 18.6% to GDP this year.

“These are encouraging results, and I believe the digital economy will achieve the goal of contributing 30% to GDP by 2030 if there are strong and comprehensive changes,” Mr. Khoa said.

Four key actions needed

According to Mr. Khoa, firstly, the Digital Industry Law will soon be passed, helping to promote the strong application of artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, taking full advantage of the benefits brought by digital technology and creating a foundation for the development of digital economic sectors.

Secondly, the business community hopes that the government will implement mechanisms for data sharing, as data is a gold mine—an invaluable national resource—that, if effectively utilized, can drive the digital economy.

Thirdly, and equally important, is how to increase the proportion of the digital economy workforce within the total labor force. With the goal of the digital economy contributing 30% to GDP, the proportion of the digital workforce must also be proportionate.

The FPT CEO emphasized: “Right now, we need to focus on training in AI, Robotics, and STEM for students from general education levels to build a team that is both ‘strong and tall,’ meaning sufficient in quantity and high in quality, to realize this ambitious digital economy growth target. Vietnam needs to become a cradle for digital talent development.”

Fourthly, there must be more decisive transformation across all sectors contributing to the digital economy—from e-commerce, finance, manufacturing, information technology, and education to industries where Vietnam holds advantages such as agriculture and tourism.

In addition, the education sector needs to take the lead in digitalizing teaching activities, from online training to digitizing lecture databases and conducting online examinations. The healthcare sector should also accelerate digitalization to make medical services and pharmaceutical access more convenient and transparent for the public. If executed effectively, this could contribute up to 5% of GDP by 2030.

Seizing e-commerce opportunities

Mr. Khoa noted that e-commerce—a core pillar of the digital economy—is expected to reach USD 22 billion in 2024 and that Vietnam ranks among the world’s top 10 countries in terms of e-commerce growth rate. Therefore, businesses must seize this opportunity to create breakthrough revenue growth initiatives.

For example, providing digital platform sales training for hundreds of thousands of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) from urban areas to rural villages; and developing smart logistics centers in key economic regions. It is estimated that e-commerce could contribute 12% to GDP by 2030.

The industrial sector needs to consider AI, IoT, and automation as vital tools to improve productivity, reduce costs, and thereby raise its current GDP contribution from 2–3% to 7%.

Information technology also holds significant potential to contribute 7–8% to GDP by 2030, as Vietnam has already established a firm position on the global technology map with a workforce of one million IT engineers.

“In general, to achieve the goal of having the digital economy account for 30% of GDP, Vietnam needs to build a synchronized digital ecosystem, accelerate digitalization across all industries and sectors, and develop a high-quality digital workforce,” Mr. Khoa concluded.

According to Tuổi Trẻ Online