Digital transformation, digital platforms and digital economy are viewed as engines for the economic recovery and development in Vietnam at the time of COVID-19, CEO of Grab Vietnam Nguyen Thai Hai Van told a seminar on December 6.

The seminar on “Digital Platform – Growth in the Future” was held by Tech For Good Institute (TFGI), a non-profit think tank founded by Grab, with the support from Grab Vietnam to enhance knowledge and information exchange in technology, innovation and rapidly-growing digital economy in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam.

The hybrid event provides a platform for the public and private sectors to share views and expertise, work together to accelerate Vietnam’s technology innovation and digital economy, and sustain equitable and sustainable growth of all economic sectors in the digital transformation, Van said.

Academics, policy researchers and IT experts from both shared and discussed a fair, inclusive and sustainable growth of the digital economy, thereby finding innovative solutions relevant to the regional setting.

TFGI Director Ming Tan said though the pandemic has brought more users to digital platforms, Southeast Asia is in the early stage of digital transformation. Southeast Asia has plenty of room to grow further in the future, he said, adding that online food sales and e-commerce only accounted for 8 percent of the region’s total food and retail sales last year, compared to 17 percent in the US and 27 percent in China.

Nguyen Trong Duong, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Information and Communications’ Department of Enterprise Management, said digital platform is highlighted as a breakthrough solution for Vietnam in accordance with the national strategy on developing digital economy and digital society.

He voiced concerns over the fact that though legal framework lays an important basis for boosting digital economy and protecting rights of consumers and parties in disputes, it remains vague in Vietnam.

Echoing Duong’s view, Dr. Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC), said in addition to improve legal framework in the field, it is critical to address challenges facing the digital platform ecosystem.

The number of Internet users in the six largest Southeast Asian countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, exceeded 400 million in 2020, a three-fold increase from a decade ago, according to the TFGI’s report “The Platform Economy: Southeast Asia’s Digital Growth Catalyst.”

Vietnam has made considerable progress in digital economy, with 62 percent of the surveyed micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) said their revenue came from digital platforms, 5 percent higher than those from Singapore./.