"Vietnam is capable of becoming a technological product manufacturing base if companies receive government support "- Experts say.

Vingroup's deputy CEO Vo Quang Hue

Vingroup’s Deputy CEO Vo Quang Hue said Vietnam has never before had such favorable conditions as now to master technologies and become a major IoT device manufacturer.

2018 proved to be the year when the keywords ‘5G’, ‘IoT’, ‘AI’, ‘Big Data’ and ‘4.0 industry revolution’ were mentioned regularly in Vietnam.

Hue cited a report from Business Insider Intelligence as saying that by 2023, consumers, businesses and governments globally would use 40 billion IoT devices. 

Businesses would spend $50 billion on IoT solutions, while governments would invest $900 billion on IoT. 

Meanwhile, Vietnam is becoming a big electronics manufacturing base. Brookings Institution reported that one out of every smartphones used in the world is from Vietnam. 

The country is now an attractive destination for the world’s large technological conglomerates thanks to its labor force, young population and geographical position which is near large global supply chains.

Regarding the labor force, Hue said that young people born after the war have had time to learn and gather experiences from all over the world. Many young Vietnamese are the key personnel in large technology firms. Le Quoc Viet, who is behind Google’s impressive AI projects, is an example.

Hue said that Vietnam now has great opportunities. As a trade war has broken out, importers are seeking alternative supply sources for orders for technological devices. Big technology corporations are considering relocating their R&D centers and factories, and Vietnam is a good choice.

Nguyen Tu Quang CEO of BKAV Corporation, a cybersecurity firm and smartphone manufacturer which owns the BPhone brand, also has high confidence in Vietnam’s capability to make hi-tech products.

Quang, at a conference of the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), said Vietnam has domestically made products with high quality and good core technologies. 

If Vietnamese enterprises can get support from the government with reasonable policies, and win consumers’ confidence, they will be able to regain market share from Samsung or Apple.

According to Quang, Vietnam now has opportunities to become a science & technology power. Vietnam should choose five key technology firms and help them accelerate their development, he said. 

He believes that Vietnam should follow the South Korean model and invest heavily in key businesses. South Korea has three conglomerates, Samsung, LG and SK, with revenue of over $300 billion, which lead the country’s technology.