At a late December meeting to review 2022 performance and set tasks for 2023, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung said that the ministry (MIC) will strongly focus on legal works to facilitate business activities, and to accelerate national digital transformation.

The MIC plans to complete the draft revised Law on E-Transactions, the revised Law on Telecommunications, and submit to the National Assembly (NA) for adoption this year.

“The amendment to the Law on Telecommunications is critical to meet development demands of the country, with the market recently witnessing significant changes with the emergence of new service and business models,” the deputy minister said. “Free trade agreements, especially new-generation ones, feature new commitments that we need to consider into local legislation.”

Both domestic and international companies are expecting the adoption of the amended Law on Telecommunications as it will help complete the legal framework of the industry, develop telecoms infrastructure for digital economy and digital society, and enlarge development space for businesses.

Moreover, a draft law for the digital tech industry will be sent to the NA for discussion in 2023 and adoption in 2024. An action programme will also be built to implement a related development strategy for 2025, with a vision towards 2030.

Also on the agenda is a draft strategy on development of the semiconductor industry for this decade, as well as development of a dynamic strategy for the IT industry to attract investment in Internet of Things (IoT) and AI-based production, particularly in the southern provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Other focuses will be the development of a national data-sharing integrated platform and development of a cloud computing platform for application in state agencies.

Continuing shift

Moves such as these are expected to increase the country’s attraction to international groups. There has already been growing interest and investment in research and development (R&D) from multinational corporations (MNCs) in the country, marking it a highlight in the local ICT industry, according to the MIC.

“Last year marked a shift of investment among many more foreign-invested enterprises from manufacturing outsourcing to investment in R&D by opening centres in Vietnam,” Deputy Minister Dung said, citing Samsung, Qualcomm, Panasonic, Intel, and Synopsys as the leaders in such activities.

Samsung remains the single-biggest foreign enterprise in Vietnam, and continued with its ambitious plan of developing Vietnam into its global R&D hub with the opening of a new R&D centre in Hanoi last month.

Vietnam is a key global base that produces nearly half of Samsung Electronics’ smartphones. In the past, it produced mainly low-end products, but increased investment means it now produces the latest foldable smartphones, TVs, batteries, and camera modules.

Other MNCs in the tech sector have been expanding in Vietnam. US chip giant Synopsys in August announced collaboration with Saigon High-Tech Park, with Synopsys supporting the park in establishing a chip design centre. The move aims to cultivate advanced design talent and facilitate semiconductor development in the country.

US conglomerate Qualcomm already established an R&D centre in Hanoi in 2020 for developing wireless technologies like 4G/5G and IoT. The facility develops new mobile technologies and provides testing services for Vietnamese manufacturing partners such as VinSmart, BKAV, and Viettel.

Ongoing progress

The growing interest from MNCs is deemed the result of the country’s sustained efforts in creating a more favourable business environment, with the MIC playing a key role in this path. In 2022, the NA adopted the amended Law on Radio Frequency and the amended Law on E-Transactions to facilitate business activities in the field.

The ministry also crafted legal documents to give priority to the development of cloud computing as an important platform for development of digital government, economy, and society.

Moreover, it worked with ministries and agencies on amending rules to create favourable conditions for businesses. For instance, it worked with the Ministry of Finance to issue circulars guiding the management and application management fees for use of radio frequencies and telecoms operation rights, among others.

The ICT industry made strong advances in 2022 with estimated revenues of $148 billion, up 8.7 per cent on-year. The industry’s GDP contribution was estimated at $34.33 billion, up 8.7 per cent on-year.

Its export turnover of hardware and electronics was estimated at $136 billion, up 11.6 per cent from 2021. The year also saw registration of 70,000 digital technology businesses, up 9.6 per cent on-year.

In addition, total revenue overseas of ICT businesses reached over $2.2 billion during the year. And for the first time, with FPT, Vietnam has a digital technology business making revenues of over $1 billion in the international market.

Despite the results, the MIC admitted that some problems remain in the industry. For example, frequency auctions have not yet been carried out due to legal barriers. There are also overlapping laws, including the existing legislation on communications, information security, and investment.

To increase its attraction, the prime minister has asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to study and work on policies to attract foreign investment inflows into chip technology, and submit them to the government in the first quarter of 2023.

Source: VIR