Powering smarter and greener industries

5G is very much part of the collaboration between industry, academia, and government. And, of course, Ericsson has engaged RMIT University in Vietnam this year and last year in education of 5G, IT, machine learning, and AI, among others.

Each country is building its own infrastructure at its own pace. Currently, there are about 55-60 countries that have already deployed 5G technology.

In Vietnam, VNPT, MobiFone, and Viettel have started early, since 2020 with 5G trials. Just as data is the new oil that fuels the digital economy, the frequency spectrum is the oxygen that mobile broadband networks breath and use to grow and expand. The Vietnamese government and carriers are also deploying at a pretty good rate today, and we are also supporting carriers as much as possible to make 5G deployment progress quickly and conveniently.

From the perspective of a telecom provider, Vietnam needs to develop an investment plan cautiously. Indeed, the implementation of 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies has been carried out smoothly to the benefit of customers, service providers, and partners.

Meanwhile, 5G technology will focus on the B2B segment, like smart factories, self-driving cars, automation, and smart manufacturing. After the pilot phase, 5G technology will be rolled out into the market this year. To facilitate the goal, 5G terminals are critical. Also, it is necessary to raise the awareness of businesses and customers about 5G technology to make deployment more convenient.

VNPT is working with the factories to build a private network. We have found some niche markets to promote 5G technology, including factories and industrial parks.

With regards to the mass market, 4G technology has fully served the demand for gaming or video. It is vital to implement 5G synchronously to create balanced benefits for multiple parties, including customers, service providers, and relevant stakeholders.

Nestlé has been present in Vietnam for 27 years with six factories. We focus on three key areas to promote digital transformation. The first is to develop the workforce by improving their labour productivity. The second is to optimise the process, especially the efficiency of the production lines. The third is to customise products to enhance flexibility.

We adopt technologies on a small-scale and then scale up their deployment across our operation. Technology is important, but people play a more important role. In particular, Nestlé has 320,000 employees worldwide. The digital transformation keeps employees connected and increases their productivity. To digitise large-scale factories, we start with data digitisation. It is also vital to adopt AI to optimise the digitalisation process.

The pandemic has been a boost to the process of digitisation and optimisation. In a short time, business models have been digitised. The digital transformation not only serves customer needs, but also creates new value. We are in the optimisation phase of the transformation process. In particular, we are interacting with customers in a whole new way given that 33 per cent of the Vietnamese workforce is Generation Z.

In Vietnam, there are underbanked and unbanked populations, which are our target customers. We have created a cloud-based bank that helps serve middle-income clients. Also, TNEX aims to become a zero-carbon bank. Our bank only emits 0.3 tonnes of carbon per month. We also plant trees to become carbon-neutral.

It is worth noting that cyberspace has become a dangerous place. We offer a zero-trust model and behavioural AI to identify any warning signs in our operation.

Vietnam is a strategic key market for ABB. We are about to celebrate 30 years of development in the country. Just last year, we launched a new factory in Bac Ninh. There is an energy management system, such as digital control for lighting, to enhance light efficiency. This is also a factor related to digital transformation.

We also have a facility for customers to inspect the quality of our products. The facility is equipped with modern technology. If customers are in Australia, they can still see the devices through the AR technology. We have more opportunities than challenges, including data digitisation. Indeed, ABB has actively supported customers in going digital.

In a digital and e-commerce environment, risks come from many sides, from suppliers and users. In particular, service providers such as financial institutions, banks, e-wallet platforms, and e-payment intermediates have set up security layers in line with international standards, which are regularly upgraded and tested. Besides this, the risk in e-commerce transactions also comes from users' behaviours like losing accounts, and passwords, so it is necessary to improve the knowledge and skills of users to avoid being hacked.

The growth of e-commerce in 2022 is not as much as in the time before the pandemic, but it reached about 18-20 per cent.

Up until 2025, the average annual growth is anticipated at 15-18 per cent per year. This is a trend where the needs, perceptions, and trends of consumption have changed.

In addition to e-commerce, public administrative services have been digitised rapidly in recent years, especially in tax declaration and customs on business and commerce. Small- and medium-sized enterprises are increasingly interested in e-commerce transactions, while more and more groups of products have appeared on e-commerce platforms, including 'intangible' products and services.