Vietnam will achieve the highest growth in the digital economy in Southeast Asia between 2022 and 2025, a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company has forecast.
It will grow at 31% followed by the Philippines with 20% and Indonesia with 19%, according to e-Conomy SEA 2022.
Vietnam’s digital gross merchandise volume is likely to reach US$23 billion this year, third highest in the region behind Indonesia’s $77 billion and Thailand’s $33 billion.
But with the rapid growth projected, it is expected to double by 2025 to $49 billion.
The main contributors to Vietnam’s digital economy this year are e-commerce ($14 billion) online media ($4.3 billion) and transport and food ($3 billion).
Vietnam’s high-quality workforce in the technology sector and the increasing penetration of digital services in urban and rural areas promise a strong foundation for the digital growth of the country, Stephanie Davis, vice president of Google Southeast Asia, said.
Vietnam is likely to attract the most investors in the 2025-30 period, according to a survey of venture capital investors in the third quarter by Bain & Company, with 83% of them expecting an increase in deal activity compared to now.
In a report earlier Meta said eight out of 10 of Vietnamese are digital consumers.
Vietnam is also among the top countries in future technology adoption such as fintech and metaverse.
Virtual reality adoption in Vietnam is 29%, the highest in Southeast Asia, it said.