Speaking at the Ministry of Information and Communications's conference in Hanoi on December 19 to review the ministry's performance in 2022 and launch tasks for 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted the important contributions of the sector in the overall achievements of the country in 2022.

The Prime Minister stressed the need for the industry to ensure that information is stored and exploited securely and effectively to create added value, thus supporting the transformation of national digital governance.

He also set out some requirements for the industry in 2023, including accelerating the construction and development of modern and comprehensive digital infrastructures and encouraging the public and private sectors to join hands in investment.

The industry should also focus on promoting the digital economy and developing platforms to meet the demand of individuals and businesses, thus increasing the percentage of people using online public services and digital platforms in Vietnam.

The PM said that 2023 is an important year for the implementation of the socio-economic development plan for the 2021-25 period, during which digital transformation will continue to be one of the major tasks in the country’s industrialisation and modernisation process.

At the conference, on behalf of the Party and State, PM Chinh presented a first-class Labour Order to the ministry. 

According to a the ministry's report, this year, the sector has shown strong performance, with total revenue of nearly VNĐ3.9 quadrillion (US$165.2 billion), up 12.7 per cent year on year.

Domestic telecommunications firms have provided services for 2,152 out of 2,418 remote hamlets and villages across the country, raising their coverage ratio to 99.73 per cent.

The digital economy has contributed 14.26 per cent to the country's GDP. At the same time, 90 per cent of wrongful and toxic information on the trans-border social networks has been removed.

The number of smartphone subscribers is estimated at 105.88 million, accounting for about 75.8%, rising 1.4% over the previous year.

The total number of employees in the communication services market in 2022 is 1.5 million, an increase of 5% compared to 2021.

The sector's labor productivity is estimated at VND648 million, a year-on-year growth of 6.7%.

The number of digital technology enterprises in Vietnam is estimated at 70,000, an increase of 9.5% compared to 2021.

In 2023, the ministry expects the total revenue from the postal sector will reach VNĐ63.76 trillion ($2.7 billion), while total telecommunications revenue will hit $21 billion. Total revenue of the digital economy is hoped to reach $30 billion, with a growth rate between 20-25 per cent. The sector expects to contribute $1.3 billion to the State budget.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that 2023 would be the year the telecommunications industry will focus on commercializing 5G and fighting spam calls. In 2023, the ministry would continue to promote digital transformation, especially supporting domestic technology enterprises to penetrate foreign markets, thus improving Vietnam's position in the global technology environment.

Vietnam aims to have 80,000 digital technology enterprises by 2025 and 100,000 by 2030. The tech industry is expected to contribute between 6% and 6.5% to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025.

Van Anh