It appears that Vietnam is best placed to become Southeast Asia’s Silicon Valley while most members of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) have ambitions of developing competitive technology sectors, “Asia Correspondent” said in a recent article.

Vietnamese workers at a Samsung's factory in Thai Nguyen province.

According to the article, Vietnam’s advantages came from its successful education policies, government support and an environment of entrepreneurial-ism.

Vietnam is also benefiting from funding and government policies designed to support the country to become a regional hub for technology and innovation.

An example of this is the ambitious “Silicon Valley Project”, a plan sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, which aims to transform the country into a major player in the digital economy. 

The article also quoted Google’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, during his trip to Vietnam last year, as saying that Vietnam would soon become one of Google’s most important markets. The Google chief executive also pledged to train 1,400 IT engineers for Vietnam. 

Vietnam’s appeal is bolstered by its tech-savvy workforce, which is cheaper than China’s and more productive than that of other countries in the AEC. Initially, the country had emerged as a production center for the Republic of Korean and Japanese electronics groups such as Samsung, LG Electronics, Panasonic and Toshiba, which have had factories in Vietnam for decades. 

However, the focus is now on transitioning from being a top producer of electronic components to becoming a center for research, innovation and development, it added.

VNA