Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam needed to invest in the digital economy and seize the opportunitiesit provided to improve labour productivity.

Theinformation was released at the annual Vietnam economic evaluation reportreleased by the National Economics University on April 20. The annual report aims to provide an overallevaluation of the economy and prospects for upcoming years.

Thereport showed that the digital economy could contribute 7 to 16.5 percent ayear to labour productivity growth from 2020-30. This means the digital economycould play an important role in the productivity and effectiveness of theeconomy.

Researchersfrom the university said the digital economy would influence the productivityof sectors relating to science and technology, finance, banking, insurance,real estate and information.

Itwas forecast that the industrial and construction sector would contribute 56 percentto the country’s labour productivity growth in the next decade. Of which, themanufacturing and processing industry would take the lead for labourproductivity growth in the country.

Prof TranTho Dat,chairman of the university’s council and a member of the Prime Minister'sEconomic Advisory Group, said this was the first research in Vietnam toquantify the impacts of the digital economy on labour productivity, whilstlooking towards 2030.

Thereport includes research from both official and unofficial economic sectors aswell as household businesses. In addition, it also looked at the impacts ofCOVID-19 on the economy and policy suggestions in response to the pandemic.

To Trung Thanh, head of theuniversity’s Science Management Department and co-editor of the report, saidthe main message of the publication was that in the context of the economybeing hit by big shocks like COVID-19, it was time to review the foundations ofthe economy. It would be an opportunity to restructure, he added.

Labourproductivity in Vietnam was at a very low level and increasingly lagging behindother countries in the region and around the world. Incentives for productivitygrowth had also been exhausted and ineffective.

Itwas the reason that digital economy would be an opportunity for improvinglabour productivity, thus achieving sustainable development and at the sametime withstand shocks from the outside.

Nguyen Kim Hung,deputy head of the Science Institute on Small-and-medium Enterprises Management(SISME), said COVID-19 had hit production and business activities, especiallythe tourism, transport and restaurant sectors. Of which, many companies hadseen a sharp decline in turnover and zero profit. In the first quarter of theyear, 35,000 more businesses halted operations than new operations wereestablished.

However, Hung said it was time toscreen more qualified businesses and help them change management and businessmethods using a digital transformation platform.

Do Hoai Nam,chairman of UPGen Vietnam, said Vietnam was hard to compare with othercountries in terms of science and technology, but it had a pretty big market.

Digitalplatforms have contributed an important part to creating a favourable businessenvironment, especially in technology services such as map apps and websitedesign, he said.

Onlinesales revenue of some supermarkets in Hanoi hadincreased by 20 percent amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Specialists in thee-commerce sector said many firms would have been forced to close withoutelectronic transaction floors such as Tiki, Lazada and online distributionchannels.

Vu Tu Thanh,deputy regional managing director of the US-ASEAN Business Council in Vietnam,said the Government should manage companies doing business on digital platformsbased on the number of transactions, then calculate the benefit sharing ratioof said parties. This would form the basis to calculate taxes, fees and theresponsibilities of related parties./.