Vietnam’s own innovation centre a defining concept

Innovation as a concept has been included in Party Congress documents for the first time. How does this assert the importance of innovation?

Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Planning and Investment

When we study the country’s development strategy for the next 10 years, we see that we have to utilise the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is the only way for Vietnam to develop quickly and catch up.

At the 13th Party Congress, the concept of innovation was added to the three strategic breakthroughs for development in the 2021-2025 period. Moreover, innovation has been clarified in the country’s socioeconomic development directions and goals across the board.

The entire political system is making efforts to implement this goal, and authorities at all levels have issued specific strategies and action programmes, so numerous new models and new production and business forms have been emerging.

Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship is one of the key tasks of the government to boost socioeconomic development and improve national competitiveness. The consistent viewpoint of the government and the prime minister is to build an innovation ecosystem converging intelligence around the world to create wealth, resources and spread it.

Among them, human resources are the most important, followed by the formation of an ecosystem and cooperative development.

What policies does the government provide to create conditions for innovative enterprises to raise capital and operate?

The 2020 Law on Investment for the first time provides the definition of innovative startup projects, which has created a new premise for regulations related to the concept. For foreign projects related to this, investors will not need to carry out registration procedures.

Even for innovative startup investment funds, investment registration is not required, and only business registration procedures are needed. This is useful for creating a dynamic and creative startup investment environment. In addition, the scope of investment incentives has been expanded to include innovation centres as well as research and development centres. Similarly, the Law on Enterprises, and the Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Support Fund also provide incentives for businesses.

However, this is not enough. The government has assigned the Ministry of Science and Technology to continue to research and propose new policy mechanisms. While the National Innovation Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) was established, including specific policies that are much better and more competitive than others in Vietnam. We are also proposing the government approve amending this decision to create more outstanding policies to promote and support innovation in Vietnam.

The NIC started construction in early 2021 in Hoa Lac High-Tech Park and will be inaugurated at the end of October. After more than three years of operation, the NIC has formed an innovation ecosystem covering the government, institutes, and businesses.

The purpose of digitalisation and innovation is to make processes smoother and connections easier, Photo: Shutterstock

Going from a resolution to a reality is tough. With the NIC, were there any difficulties or doubts?

When the MPI proposed establishing the NIC, there were many concerns about the possibility of success or operational efficiency of the centre. We worked and discussed carefully with top consulting groups to build a very specific and professional project after researching both international and domestic studies, along with analysis of Vietnam and the region.

The NIC was established as a public service unit with financial autonomy, focusing on promoting innovation, cooperation, and forming supply chains in eight major areas like smart factories, smart cities, digital content, cybersecurity, environmental technology, medical technology, semiconductor industry, and hydrogen technology.

Now the NIC has two headquarters in Hanoi’s Cau Giay district and Hoa Lac High-Tech Park. They have already cooperated with hundreds of large domestic and international technology corporations, more than 200 investment funds, and nearly 2,000 Vietnamese experts and intellectuals worldwide. With that, the NIC has become a pioneer in researching and proposing cooperation mechanisms to support startups and innovation.

George Choo, president, Association of Telecommunications and Technology Industry of Singapore The digital and green economy are two emerging areas which present vast opportunities for Southeast Asia. More partnerships are being formed between developed countries and Singapore in these areas, too. And at the same time, Singapore can share these opportunities with our ASEAN neighbours, especially Vietnam, which are very keen to develop and enter a higher level of technology and skill set for the entire nation. We are pragmatic and making changes along the way to ensure we remain relevant to the world and that businesses continue to invest in Singapore. With geopolitical tension and other regional conflicts of interest, we understand that it will continue to be uncertain in the near future. However, we cannot sit back and wait for such uncertainty to disappear. The best way forward is for both countries to deepen ties and create more business opportunities, such as in the areas of digital economy and green economy. Going into the next round of our bilateral relations and economic partnership, the digital economy and green economy will continue to be areas where Singapore and Vietnam can seize the opportunities of the next decade and deepen bilateral cooperation. Vu The Binh, secretary general, Vietnam Internet Association 5G and the digital economy is opening new development space for network operators, and technology service providers. Domestic and international businesses are focusing strongly on the Vietnamese market to tap into huge growth potential. Major network operators have all invested and tested 5G, and have specific plans to build, operate, and promote demand for 5G services. We believe that each business has worked on their own strategies and own calculations, based on the 4G investment cycle, as well as the ability to master technology, the ability to introduce new services, and solutions to stimulate market demands. The Vietnamese economy has been facing difficulties, and even showing signs of slowing growth. Major network operators certainly have to adjust their strategies and plans to launch and commercialise their 5G services and solutions. Network operators will provide appropriate solutions to help solve problems in important economic sectors, and help optimise costs and increase the efficiency of important economic activities, such as in transport, health, urban management, and others.