HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - Vietnamese firms regardless of their scale need toget up to speed on digital transformation to enable them to further penetrateglobal markets, a webinar heard on August 26.

Tran Phu Lu, deputy director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre ofHCM City, told the seminar titled Digital Transformation and Key Legal Pointsto Take Advantage of the EVFTA’s Opportunities in the Current Context thattrade disputes and the COVID-19 pandemic have affected global investment andtrade, and supply chains have been disrupted.

Vietnam’s trade revenues were down 2.1 percent year-on-year in the first halfof the year to 238.4 billion USD, with exports falling 1.1 percent to 121.2billion USD. 

Lu quoted World Bank experts as saying that in the long run, the impacts ofCOVID-19 and trade tensions could lead to a profound restructuring of globalvalue chains, enabling Vietnamese firms to enter them.

Vietnam is the EU’s 17th largest trading partner and the second largest inSoutheast Asia while the EU is one of the country’s major markets, he said.

“The European Union-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which hastaken effect since earlier this month, is expected to open new doors andcreate growth momentum for Vietnam’s economy and exporters.

“It is expected to boost digital transformation at Vietnamese companies toenable them to capitalise on opportunities brought by the agreement.”

Vietnam’s exports to the EU last year accounted for only 1.8 percent ofthe bloc’s total imports, and so there is much room left, especially with theEVFTA removing 85.6 percent of tariff lines, equivalent to more than 70 percentof the country’s exports to the EU.

To succeed in that market, Vietnamese firms need to focus on obtaining marketinformation, improving the quality of their products and services, building andpromoting their brands, professionalising sales, and increasing the adoption ofadvanced technologies.

Besides, their products must meet safety standards as well as socialresponsibility and intellectual property requirements.

Dr Nguyen Tuan Hoa of the Green Economic Institute, an arbitrator at the VietnamInternational Arbitration Centre, concurred with Lữ, saying that tocapitalise on the EVFTA, Vietnamese firms need to meet three main criteria:product origin, quality and digital capability.

“EU businesses are 10-15 years ahead of Vietnamese enterprises in terms ofdigital capacity, and so we must strive to achieve the similar level as them sothat we can do business with them.

“Thus, digital transformation is an inevitable process. If we don't do it,we will be left behind.”

Enterprises should start to get acquainted with e-contracts, pay digital taxesand digitalise all business activities, he said.

Digital transformation is the process of creating a new operating method basedon digital technologies like IoT, cloud, big data, AI, and blockchain to createnew production and business models, he said.

“Successful digital transformation will bring many benefits to businesses suchas reducing costs and enabling them to access any market, not just the EU.”

Lawyer Dinh Quang Thuan of the Global Vietnam Lawyers Co. Ltd said the mostpopular trading method today is the signing of electronic contracts usinge-signature technologies and digital signature certification services.  

Signing of e-contracts would help businesses save time and costs, especially inthe current situation, he said.

In reality, the number of Vietnamese firms signing e-contracts remains modestsince they are afraid of legal and security risks and increase in costs, hesaid.

He expected the signing of e-contracts to increase soon as companies realisethe importance of investment in digital transformation to enhance theircompetitive advantages.

To reduce the risks involved in e-contracts, firms should carefully study theirbusiness partners, choose prestigious ones, exchange information via emailthrough clearly registered and owned domain names, he said.

They should consult experts and lawyers before signing e-contracts to helpensure safety, he said.

Lữ said: “In the context of the prolonged epidemic, the use of digitaltransformation for market access and penetration is vital.

“This is the time for businesses to realise the advantages of the digitaleconomy and the urgent need for digital transformation.”

The webinar was organised by the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCMCity and the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre./.