10 advantages for Vietnam to stand out at threshold of 4.0 Industrial Revolution

With the appearance of new technological products in the context of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution, the form of investment and capital inflows vary in accordance with the endless demand for start-up ideas all over the world. Therefore, Vietnam should not resist anymore or else it will lag far behind.

Many domestic economic experts and researchers doubt that Vietnam is still stuck in the second industrial revolution, let alone the 4.0 Industrial Revolution.

However, this is the right time for Vietnam economy to accelerate and take advantages of advanced technology and science of the world to develop.

Firstly, Vietnam has the feature of a creative economy. Vietnamese people are smart and always desire for innovations. They always wait for chances to start up and be the owner.

Secondly, Vietnam economy has a low starting point; therefore, Vietnamese people have a huge aspiration to get rich and catch up with other regional and international countries.

Thirdly, Vietnam has the young population. Especially the millennials in Vietnam has more favorable conditions to quickly get access to the digital economy.

Fourthly, the State has opened up its economy to the global economy at full capacity, which is an unprecedented advantage. Vietnam currently ranks just behind Singapore and Hong Kong in terms of market openness.

Fifthly, the government of Vietnam has become more transparent and integrity, which has strongly impacted on each agency, enterprise, and locality.

The amendment of the laws of the National Assembly recently aiming to facilitate citizens and investors is the basic foundation for the economy to reach out.

Sixthly, the government has enhanced the national security and the political stability as well as committed to protect foreign investors’ rights and property rights. Therefore, more and more capital has been poured into Vietnam via Foreign Direct Investment or Official Development Assistance. Especially, investment funds have increased capital to buy shares of domestic companies.

Seventhly, state-owned monopolies have been reduced by privatization and forced to be listed on the stock market. The banking system has been reformed, bad debt has been handled. Noticeably, the government gradually raised the limits of foreign ownership in banks to 30 per cent, let 100 per cent foreign-owned banks operate in the country. Especially, the Prime Minister announced to allow international investors to buy all stake in the “zero dong” banks.

Eighthly, Vietnam put the environment over the economic benefits in licensing investments. In order to create a sustainable development, the government has clearly oriented the development of such spearhead economic sectors as tourism; clean, organic, nutritious agriculture; high-tech industry, processing industry, and light industry.

Ninthly, Vietnam is located in a special position connecting Asian region and China and lies on the world’s most important maritime route.

Tenthly, there is a huge number of overseas Vietnamese, especially in developed countries like the U.S, Germany, France, and Japan. This is a huge advantage when overseas compatriots have a high knowledge base and abundant capital. Especially, they have high patriotism and always want to contribute to the homeland.

With these advantages, Vietnam can not only catch up with the 4.0 Industrial Revolution, it can also even stand out in the process of formation and development in the 4.0 Industrial Revolution.

It is imperative that entrepreneurs, enterprises, government agencies, and localities need to drastically set up a detailed program of action to fully make the most of the available resources for a fast and firm integration into the 4.0 Industrial Revolution. They also need to limit the challenges, as the Prime Minister urged.

The government should also establish a research board on the 4.0 Industrial Revolution in order to support the Prime Minister in making timely and strategic decisions in the very first stage of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution.