Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Local digital content firms are claiming of unfair treatment compared to theirforeign peers, with Vietnamese companies saying they face many regulationswhile firms like Google, Facebook and YouTube don’t pay taxes and areunhindered by regulations and policies.

Leaders of digital contentbusinesses made the gripes at a forum about the law on information andtechnology and development orientation held in Hanoi on August 15.

Nguyen Thanh Hung, directorof VTC Intecom, was reported by online newspaper vneconomy.vn assaying that 10 years ago, revenue of digital content from added value servicesreached 3-4 trillion VND (133-177 million USD). The revenuehas risen due to the development of television, online services and the shiftfrom traditional advertising to online ads and content on social networks.

Nguyen The Tan, VCCorp’sgeneral director, said total revenue of digital content firms in was about 8-10trillion VND (352.4-440.5 million USD) a year. The revenue could hit 15-20trillion VND (660.8-881 million USD) a year, including foreign companies in Vietnam.

Tan told the newspaper thatthe scale of the digital content market in the next five years could reach 1billion USD and 5 billion USD in the next 20 years.

However, he said 1 billion inrevenue for the digital content sector was different than for the garment andtextile industry. The garment and textile sector could earn only 10 percent or 500million USD for export revenue of 5 billion USD while the digital content couldyield 500 million USD for exporting 1 billion USD to foreign markets.

This means 1 billion USD exportsof the digital content sector could be equal to 5 billion USD in exports of thegarment and textile sector, he said.

He forecast that the digitalcontent sector could bring benefits for Vietnam in tourism in the next five or10 years, surpassing garment and textile and petroleum sectors while providinga million jobs.

Hung from VTC Intecom saidthere were some restrictions on domestic digital content development, as theGovernment imposed tight regulations on the sector.

He said his company wasinspected by many management agencies when they made information websites. However,there was no one checking their company’s information which was posted onFacebook.

In addition, Vietnameseonline game producers have to complete many administrative procedures.

Digital content has alsoshifted from PC to mobile, meaning management policies are no longer suitablewith reality. Digital content on mobile is subject to both Vietnamese andforeign regulations, he said.

He added that this was whylocal digital content firms have not paid much attention to investment.

Agreeing, Nhan The Luan, a representativeof Nhaccuatui, said Vietnamese businesses have faced competition from foreignfirms while being restricted by regulations.

Luan said that total trafficof 300 licensed websites in Vietnam accounted for only 20 percent compared withforeign firms which have not been locally licensed.

Tan from VCCorp also saidVietnamese companies had to follow regulations and could be punished forviolations while these are not applied on foreign firms.

He added that Vietnameseenterprises have to pay all kinds of taxes such as VAT, individual income taxand corporate income tax.

Tan said taxes should beimposed on both Vietnamese and foreign firms.

In addition, he asked theMinistry of Information and Communications to ask the Government to considerthe digital content sector a key economic sector to not only maintain Statebudget collection but also attract foreign investment.

The ministry should alsostudy policies to make foreign companies follow Vietnamese laws and regulationsas they earn billions of VND from Vietnam without paying taxes andduties, he said.

He asked for administrativeprocedure simplification to reduce the burden on local companies.

Nguyen Xuan Cuong, vicechairman of Vietnam Digital Communications Association said laws and regulationsshould be adjusted to ensure fairness for both domestic and foreignbusinesses.-VNA