In recent years, the Vietnamese government has identified three priorities for development, said Hue in a meeting with representatives of global enterprises, including Qualcomm, Airbus, Sysmec and Cargrill, at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN) on September 13. 

Firstly, Vietnam will continue to integrate into global economy in an extensive manner. 

Secondly, the government will step up efforts to restructure the economy and improve the business and investment environments, while the private sector is regarded as an important driving force of the economy. 

Thirdly, the government will mobilize both internal and external resources to improve economic infrastructure and human resources. 

However, the deputy PM acknowledged Vietnam is slow in catching up with the advance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, while asking for support from enterprises in the process. 

Mantosh Malhotra, regional head for Qualcomm in Southeast Asia and Pacific, informed that the company invested US$14 billion in R&D, for which Vietnamese enterprises can take part in Qualcomm’s global digital ecosystem. 

By working with leading companies in Vietnam such as Viettel or Vingroup, Malhotra said there remains much room for both sides to cooperate. 

Meanwhile, Airbus’ representative stated the company has invested in FPT and is impressed with the growth rate of the IT company. Sharing the same view, Sysmec’s representative highly regarded the quality of FPT’s human resources. 

Amazon and Grab added that they are willing to support Vietnam in developing a non-cash payment system. 

The deputy PM welcomed the initiatives of global companies for Vietnam in its quest of developing digital economy. Recently, the Vietnamese government has instructed ministries and provinces to share the database on citizens, social insurance, finance and administration and create condition for the development of Vietnamese social networks. 

Hue pointed to Vietnam’s vision and demands for the development of 5G network, smart city and logistics as opportunities for further cooperation with global enterprises, adding Vietnam will soon complete the ecosystem for digital economy in terms of human resources and legal framework. 

With regard to Vietnam’s challenges, Hue said the number of cash transactions per head in Vietnam remain high, while the country’s informal economic sector makes up a large proportion of total GDP. 

On the progress of state-owned enterprises equitization, Hue said the Committee for State Capital Management is set to be operational in October, which will be key to ensure the equitization process staying on track, meeting the government plan for the 2016 – 2020 period. 

Ministries and provinces must comply with the government’s list of SOEs marked for equitization and divestment during the 2017 – 2020 period, Hue stressed.