Support businesses to achieve digital transformation, HCM City urged

Thủ Đức City Smart Operation Centre in HCM City. Photo sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY — The nation’s biggest city and economic hub will need to provide focused support for businesses to achieve digital transformation, experts say.

Such support will be crucial to develop a digital economy, they add. 

Speaking at a seminar last Friday, Lâm Đình Thắng, director of the city Department of Information and Communications, said the city would enhance interaction between governmental agencies and enterprises to help them speed up digital transformation and build a digital economy.

The city will continue to develop policy mechanisms and legal frameworks to support businesses as they try to recover production, he said.

It is making several moves to become a fintech hub and complete its digital transformation support centre. 

It will also strive to speed up digital transformation at government organisations and promote e-government to improve the efficiency and quality of public services, he added.

The city plans to establish at least two technology innovation centres by 2025 to help businesses. 

The centres will help improve supply chains, technology transfers and innovations, and promote an innovation ecosystem for start-ups. 

HCM City has great potential to develop the digital economy as it has the highest number of smartphone and internet users in the country, he said.

Experts recommended the city build databases and link all those that are relevant to reforming governance. The databases should contain information about enterprises, land and other aspects. 

Phạm Bình An, deputy director of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies, said the city should facilitate digital business and e-commerce activities, and strengthen links between e-commerce firms and manufacturers.

The city aims to become a digital government and smart city by the end of this year. 

It has set a target of having the digital economy making up 15 per cent of its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) this year, 25 per cent by 2025 and 40 per cent by 2030. 

It gives digitisation priority to 10 sectors – healthcare, education, transport, finance – banking, tourism, agriculture, logistics, environment, energy and human resources.

HCM City ranks fifth out of 63 provinces and cities in the index for information technology application and development.

The digital economy last year accounted for around 15 per cent of the city’s gross domestic product, or VNĐ191.8 trillion (US$8.27 billion), according to a study conducted by the Institute for Development Studies. 

The study was based on data from Google, Temasek and Bain & Company and the Department of Information and Communications on hardware and software production, digital content and IT services. — VnExpress News