‘If technology is one step behind, Vietnam may miss growth opportunities’

At the discussion session on the afternoon of April 20, delegate Tran Van Khai, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, said that in the context of trade and geopolitical risks that are difficult to predict, public investment needs to be accelerated but must be “faster and smarter. The priority focus is on digital infrastructure, energy infrastructure and innovation infrastructure to create a foundation for sustainable growth.

According to him, the biggest risk today lies in technology. Technology life cycles are getting shorter and shorter while the investment process is still long. If you delay one step, you will lose your advantage. If you delay one step, the country will miss the opportunity to develop.

Delegates also pointed out the institutional gap for investment in intangible assets such as data, core software, algorithms, and intellectual property. If there is a lack of ordering, costing and result-based purchasing mechanisms, the digital transformation process will be delayed and it will be difficult to create expected productivity. Another risk is cybersecurity and data sovereignty. As the level of digitalization deepens and the attack surface expands, cyber incidents can disrupt public services and production and business activities.

Besides, energy and environmental bottlenecks are also emphasized. Data centers and artificial intelligence consume large amounts of electricity. If not associated with energy security and green standards, digital growth can be constrained by electricity infrastructure and emissions pressures.

To overcome challenges, Mr. Khai proposed that the Government innovate institutions, develop infrastructure, improve the quality of human resources and strengthen monitoring based on results. Ministries and branches need to establish a project portfolio management mechanism according to Resolution 57, avoiding scattered and duplicate investments.

He also proposed allowing the application of ordering, costing and controlled testing mechanisms for scientific and technological tasks, data and digital platforms; At the same time, clearly stipulate risk management, accountability and protection mechanisms for officials who dare to innovate for the common good.

Delegates emphasized that cybersecurity needs to be considered a mandatory component in every digital project using the budget, ensuring safety right from the design stage, with enough funding for independent monitoring, backup, recovery and data testing. Identifiable data, logistics, healthcare, and education platforms need to be prioritized for investment.

“It is necessary to increase investment in STEM training, digital project management, attract experts, and mobilize the private sector to invest in an appropriate public-private partnership model,” he said.

Startups lack capital and policies, making it difficult to break through

Delegate Nguyen Van Huy, Deputy Delegation of Hung Yen, also said that when traditional growth drivers decline, the startup and innovation ecosystem becomes a key factor but is being hindered by many bottlenecks.

According to him, entrepreneurship is no longer a trend but has become an important driving force to improve national competitiveness. However, Vietnam’s startup ecosystem still lacks policy uniformity, with overlaps and inconsistencies between laws and by-law documents. Regulations related to venture capital, tax incentives and policy experimentation are incomplete, making many ideas difficult to implement in practice.

The connection between subjects in the ecosystem is still loose, the situation of “everyone doing their own thing” is still common. Many scientific research results have not been effectively commercialized. Start-up businesses have difficulty accessing technology, while investors lack information and confidence to pour capital.

Another major bottleneck is capital. Although there has been the participation of a number of domestic and foreign investment funds, the scale and diversity are still limited. Start-up businesses, especially in the early stages, find it difficult to access capital due to lack of collateral. Many potential projects have to seek capital from abroad or downsize or even stop operating.

According to Hung Yen delegates, these limitations not only reduce the effectiveness of the startup ecosystem but also cause Vietnam to miss development opportunities in the context of increasingly fierce regional competition. Therefore, he proposed that the Government review and improve the law on innovation, and add the content of building a startup ecosystem to the Resolution on the socio-economic development plan for the period 2026-2030.

Sharing the same opinion, delegate Nguyen Dai Thang, Deputy Chairman of the Delegates’ Working Committee, said that to achieve the double-digit growth target, it is necessary to strongly shift the growth model from breadth to depth, taking productivity, science and technology and innovation as the central driving force.

He proposed increasing investment in research and development to at least 1.5% of GDP, encouraging businesses to deduct from the Science and Technology Fund, and exempting taxes for applied research activities; Build a National Innovation Support Fund to support technology businesses, supporting industries and digital transformation.

“Attracting foreign investment needs to shift from attracting quantity to quality, prioritizing projects with a commitment to technology transfer, using domestic human resources and linking with domestic businesses,” Mr. Thang said, suggesting building a breakthrough policy to attract domestic and foreign experts to participate in developing science, technology and innovation in Vietnam.