A payment via QR code. The coronavirus pandemic is highlighting the need for speeding up digital transformation. (Photo thuongtruong.com.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Minister of Information andCommunications Nguyen Manh Hung has urged digital companies to innovate anddevelop platforms for online services as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)pandemic has sparked a pressing need for Vietnam to hasten digitaltransformation.
Hung said the pandemic was posing considerable challenges butthere were also opportunities.
“COVID-19 helps us change our thinking. It is a breakingpoint in the development process and many habits will change,” he said. “Thisprovides the biggest opportunity to accelerate digital transformation and bringsocio-economic activities online.”
“The world is now hard to predict, turbulence has becomenormal. We will have to face this coronavirus pandemic crisis, then we willlearn how to increase resistance, toughness, creativity, adaptiveness andrecovery ability,” he said.
“Digital technology will help solve the problems quickly,” hestressed. “It is time for the Government, enterprises and society to investmore intensively in digital technology.”
In the context of the pandemic, Hung said the Governmentwould decide some digital transformation policies currently under considerationmore quickly, such as cashless payment, mobile money, certification for onlinelearning, banning outdated technology imports, promoting the production oflow-priced smartphones and e-Government.
For example, the number of files for public servicessubmitted online doubled in the past month, equal to the total figure of theprevious 20 years.
Cashless payment and e-Government were highlighted asimportant solutions to fight the spread of COVID-19. Recently, banks slashedonline transactions fees to promote cashless payment.
As technology shapes a stay-at-home economy in the COVID-19outbreak, Hung urged Vietnamese firms to increase innovations to provide moreonline platforms for education, health, shopping and recreation.
The need for digital transformation was pressing as thepandemic would not only create a health crisis but also an economic crisis,which would result in increasing unemployment, he said.
“Success often comes from a crisis. It’s a preciousopportunity for digital companies,” Hung said.
Dau Anh Tuan, head of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry’s Legal Department, said encouraging the participation of enterprisesin digital transformation and opening digital economy platforms would bringsignificant efficiency.
However, Tuan said the current legal system needed timelyamendments to manage new business models efficiently and ensure the developmentof the digital economy is on track.
A clear example was tech-based cars like Grab and Be. It tooksix years for lawmakers to complete a decree regulating the operation ofvehicles providing passenger transportation services via ride-hailing appswhich will come into effect from the beginning of April.
Economic expert Vo Tri Thanh said the digital economy was anindispensable global trend and Vietnam could not stand outside, adding thatsuccessful digital transformation brought significant benefits to businesseslike 30 percent higher labour productivity.
However, digital transformation was not simple, he said,adding that only half of enterprises embarking in the process succeeded./.
VNA
