Vietnam's digital economy was valued at 9 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach 30 billion by 2025, according to Open Gov Asia.

In an article published on September 24, Open Gov Asia said Vietnam’s digital economy is growing rapidly, making important contributions to the country’s economy.

Over the past years, Vietnam has witnessed an increase in online shopping, the article said, adding that the boom of e-commerce and the emergence of new business models on the Internet have changed consumption habits of Vietnamese people.

It stressed that e-commerce is the fastest developed field in Vietnam, growing at about 30 percent a year, with revenue in 2018 valuing at about 8 billion USD and predicted to reach at least 10 billion USD by 2020.

According to the article, telecommunications enterprises in Vietnam have also grown with a turnover of about 6.1 billion USD, creating more than 851,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the online advertising industry is growing rapidly, with forecast revenue of more than 1 billion USD by 2020, three times higher than the figure in 2016.

However, the article also pointed out challenges facing Vietnam in the context of the explosion of a digital economy, especially cyber security, and competitive pressure in the integration process.

To reach sustainable growth, Vietnam needs comprehensive measures and joint efforts from both State and private sectors, including creating favourable legal corridors and normative documents that are appropriate for a digital economy, upgrading digital infrastructure and equipping modern digital technology solutions, giving tax incentives for investment activities, developing digital infrastructure and information security./. VNA