IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The trend of e-commerce development differs between slow-growing regions and developed regions.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City continue to lead Vietnam e-business index 2021 (EBI 2021), according to the latest report released on April 20 by the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) in Hanoi.

The Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) announced on September 21 that it has started providing 5G service and put into operation the infrastructure of Internet of Things (IoT) in Ho Chi Minh City.

Major General Hoang Son, Deputy General Director of Viettel Group said that after more than 3 months of making the first test call on the 5G platform, Viettel officially broadcasted 5G network on a trial basis in ward 12 of District 10, HCM City, enabling people to directly experience 5G technology.

The concept of smart cities has become one of the most talked-about topics in recent years. Artificial intelligence and information technology will be utilised to manage and improve living standards, improve the quality of local government services, and use energy and natural resources more efficiently. For Vietnam, adopting and implementing smart cities initiatives could be a game-changer for its highly populous cities.

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), which has a population of more than 10 million people, was one of the first cities to pass a resolution on a project to transform the city into a smart city between 2017 and 2020, with a goal to be fully transformed by 2025.

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue is working to build its capital Hue into Vietnam’s first smart communication city.

Accordingly, a project worth over 22 million USD is being carried out on 39.6 ha of land in the An Van Duong residential area of the city, according to Chairman of the Thua Thien-Hue People’s Committee Phan Ngoc Tho.

Vietnam needs 1 million workers in information technology and digital content creation but now there are only 300,000 people in this field, pointing to a need to improve the quality of education and tailor it to the need of companies.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam made the statement at the ceremony to open the second phase of F-Ville software village (F-Ville 2) in Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park on February 13.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) yesterday held its 2020 summary and 2021 mission meeting. At the moment, Vietnam stands at the second position in the world as to mobile phone and parts manufacturing, and the tenth position regarding electronic parts production. It was able to surpass many developed nations like the US, Germany, Singapore.

In his opening speech, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung stated that never before has the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry played such an essential role like it is at this moment, when digital transformation is actively contributing to helping human beings moving from the real to the virtual life.

The Government on Thursday asked Vietnam to set up an electronics cluster in India.

India and Vietnam signed two memorandums of understanding (MoU) for partnership in the field of information, communications and technology (ICT).

The first MoU was on telecom regulation between the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Vietnam Telecommunications Authority. The second was on spectrum management between Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC), DoT and the Authority of Radio Frequency Management, Vietnam.

More than half of the systems cannot record attacks

Vu Quoc Khanh, Director of VNCERT (the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team) said at a workshop on building up information security policies in developing e-government held on May 25, that the budget for information security solutions just amounts to a small proportion in the agencies’ total budget for the information technology application program.

Global cloud communications company Infobip has built an extensive operation in Vietnam with key solutions widely utilised by various organisations from telecom to e-commerce, and as digital transformation is critical to the survival of Vietnamese businesses today, Infobip is expected to be at the forefront of this trend. Pham Gia Dan, business development director of Infobip shared his insights with VIR’s Thanh Van into the Vietnamese market and Infobip’s solutions to the local businesses.

Vietnam is one of the pioneering countries in building a national digital transformation programme, with the three main pillars of digital government, digital economy, and digital society.

The Party Central Committee issued Resolution No. 52-NQ/TW in September 2019 on a number of policies and guidelines regarding the country’s engagement in the fourth Industrial Revolution, with an emphasis on speeding up digital transformation.

The Ministry’s consultative meeting on e-government development held in Hanoi on March 20 drew representatives of many multinational groups like Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, IBM, Oracle, Sun, Nec, KT, Samsung and some international organisations such as the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and the World Bank.

More than 300 high-ranking officials, experts gathered in person and online for the workshop on “Leveraging TVET system for Digital Skill development and Skill Mobility in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution" on August 25.

The workshop provided an opportunity to share reflections after the collaboration, while inviting the international and national experts to share their insight on the priority areas for improvement in the skills development of Vietnamese workers.

The course is organised by the Embassy of Israel in Vietnam, MASHAV, in collaboration with the National Institute of Information and Communication strategy (NIICS).

Vietnam’s rate of Internet usage is higher than the regional average and the Vietnamese government has been pushing state agencies over the past 5 years to use IT applications to streamline administrative procedures.

For the past decade Danang city has provided online methods for carrying out administrative procedures related to land, construction, tax, social insurance, and public policy.

Of 63 provinces and cities nationwide Danang alone has set up a one-stop shop mechanism which allows local people to declare their personal information just once for multiple administrative procedures.

The Prime Minister has assigned the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to study and try to use a cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology as a part of a strategy on e-government in 2021-2025.

The space for cryptocurrency is huge and those who stay outside will lose great opportunities. Vietnam should build up a national blockchain network and issue a cryptocurrency managed by SBV, according to David Tran, a Vietnamese scholar working in the US.

Solar and biomass plants at trading house's nearby industrial park to be tapped

Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. will make its smart city currently under development in Hanoi partially self-sufficient, tapping solar and biomass power generation facilities in a nearby industrial park to cover 30% to 40% of the city and industrial park's electricity.

Japanese engineering consulting firm Nippon Koei will start an experiment of automated vehicles in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.

The experiment will take place at a large-scale redevelopment area in suburban Hanoi, in collaboration with a subsidiary of Ecopark Group, a major real estate developer in Vietnam and a local tech company which is engaged in the development of self-driving cars. The companies aim to improve access to the center of the city and to participate in the smart city development. The experiment is scheduled to end on December 14th, with an aim of launching a commercial service by the end of 2023.

Kerlink  is teaming up with Vietnamese IoT startup Cloud Energy in building new solutions to meet demand for IoT services in rural areas around Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), expanding on their earlier collaboration on smart-building and energy-management projects in the city of nearly 9 million people.

The two companies recently developed and deployed a fully wireless LoRaWAN network to monitor and manage a 900 kWp solar-power installation on a mushroom farm 80 km from the city. The installation of the wireless solar-power system was chosen by NG Investment for its superior advantages: stability of data reading, ability to connect to different inverter brands and the cost savings on investment and maintenance.

The Korean government’s grant aid project valued at 3 million USD aims to promote innovation and enhance the efficiency and transparency of Vietnam’s public procurement, and lay out the foundation for the future establishment of the e-Procurement system in Vietnam.