According to the latest forecast by Google Research, digital transformation could bring up to 74 billion USD (about 1,733 billion VND) to the Vietnamese economy by 2030. In that context, Vietnam hopes to become a new technology center of Asia, attracting businesses and startups from many countries to invest and start businesses. Sharing at the Vietnam - Korea Digital Cooperation Forum 2024, Mr. Do Tien Thinh, Deputy Director of the National Innovation Center (NIC, Ministry of Planning and Investment) said that Vietnam has many advantages in exploiting the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI). " Vietnam's advantages come from its young, educated and technology-savvy population. Vietnam is the second fastest growing country in the Internet economy in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese government also has many policies to promote the deployment of digital technologies ," Mr. Thinh said.

Deputy Director of the National Innovation Center - Do Tien Thinh. Photo: Trong Dat

According to the Deputy Director of the National Innovation Center, Vietnam still has a lot of room to apply AI technology to develop economic sectors. These include sectors such as agriculture and food, consumption, retail and hospitality, education and training, financial services, health, infrastructure, etc. Sharing his perspective with Korean digital technology enterprises that are planning to explore the Vietnamese market, NIC experts said that transportation and healthcare are areas with great potential for AI startups in Vietnam. Stating the reasons for attracting Korean enterprises to start businesses in Vietnam, according to Mr. Thinh, in addition to advantages in human resources and policy mechanisms, the Vietnamese Government attaches great importance to sharing data from the public sector to the private sector for business purposes. “ Vietnam currently ranks 2nd out of 6 countries surveyed in Southeast Asia in terms of AI startup potential. Singapore currently accounts for 44% of startups in the AI ​​field. Vietnam accounts for 27% of AI startups, far ahead of Indonesia and Thailand ,” said the Deputy Director of the National Innovation Center.

Mr. Hur Sung Wook, Chairman of the National Information Technology Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (NIPA), hopes that the Vietnam - Korea Digital Cooperation Forum will open up the AI ​​era, opening up the development potential of both countries in applying AI to the digital economy. Photo: Trong Dat

To take advantage of its existing advantages, Vietnam is currently promoting the application of AI with three pillars including developing an artificial intelligence ecosystem, improving AI skills for workers and creating a favorable environment for the "AI generation". Vietnam also has mechanisms to encourage investment. Korean startups in the field of AI and high technology when entering Vietnam will enjoy investment incentives according to the law. These incentives may include corporate income tax exemption for 4 years, tax reduction for the next 9 years, etc. For some fields, such as AI application in finance, some localities in Vietnam can apply a controlled testing mechanism (sandbox). " In the past 2 years, Vietnam has issued 2 Resolutions and 1 specific Law, allowing Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to pilot sandboxes following the Singapore model ", said Mr. Thinh. In fact, to support startups, Vietnam is focusing on policies to develop human resources and the AI ​​ecosystem, especially platforms in the AI ​​field. The Ministry of Planning and Investment has worked with Google to build the "AI Space" platform, allowing startups to participate in using cloud services and many other digital services for free. The total amount of money that startups can save is up to 350,000 USD within 2 years. This is considered an important support to help startups feel secure in investing and starting a business in Vietnam. Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/startup-ai-han-quoc-co-the-sang-dau-tu-khoi-nghiep-tai-viet-nam-2344781.html