Vietnam’s digital economy grows fastest in SA

Vietnam will remain the region’s fastest growing digital economy between 2023-2025, according to the 8th edition of the e-Conomy SEA Report published on November 7 by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.

It will grow at 20% in two years, the same level as the Philippines, and followed by Thailand (17%), Indonesia (15%), Malaysia (14%), and Singapore (13%).

Despite global macroeconomic headwinds, the country’s gross merchandise value (GMV) is expected to near 45 billion USD by 2025, the third highest in the region after Indonesia (109 billion USD) and Thailand (49 billion USD).

The main contributors to Vietnam’s digital economy include e-commerce which will grow 22% to reach 24 billion USD in 2025, online tourism (up 21% to 7 billion USD) and online media (up 15% to 7 billion USD).

The country also records the fastest growth for digital financial services (DFS) in the region, the report said.

Digital payments continue to grow in the country, driven by strong support from the Government, investment from commercial banks, and the popularity of QR codes.

The trend is expected to accelerated as the State Bank of Vietnam has encouraged cashless payments in rural and remote areas, it added.

Marc Woo, Managing Director at Google Vietnam and Asia Pacific, said the development of Vietnam’s digital economy is on the right track, and Google will continue comprehensive support for the country to branch out its digital economy by promoting development of the Vietnamese startup and investing in human resources training, among others.