Vietnam's 2021 economic growth based on innovation, digital conversion: economists

The promotion of economic growth post-COVID-19 should be based on innovation, innovation and digital transformation, economists have suggested.

The Vietnamese economy has achieved its dual goals of both growth recovery and COVID-19 containment. (Photo: VNA)
The Vietnamese economy has achieved its dual goals of both growth recovery and COVID-19 containment. (Photo: VNA)

These were the topics discussed at a seminar organised by the Vietnam Institute of Economics (VIE) in Hanoi on January 19.

In 2020, the world economy was severely affected by the pandemic. COVID-19 caused many countries see negative rates of growth. In Vietnam, a range of sectors have also been severely affected, including the service industry, tourism and transportation.

The epidemic has reduced consumption, investment, and trade activities, but thanks to state investment, import-exports in the domestic economic sector have witnessed a strong increase, partially compensating for the decline in the foreign invested sector.

Along with that, with the Government's management of the realisation of the "dual goals", both effectively preventing the epidemic and helping to remove difficulties for production and business activities, the country has been one among only a few nations having achieved a positive growth rate, at 2.91%.

Assoc. Prof., Dr. Bui Nhat Quang, President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, stated that the Government's support efforts in both economic and social security have contributed to bringing economic growth in 2020 to its highest level possible amidst the context of the pandemic.

Experts at the seminar suggested that promoting economic growth in the post-COVID-19 period should be based on innovation, creativity and digital transformation. The necessity in the current context is that both the State and Government need to provide “a sufficient support dose” and do so for long enough to allow digital enterprises and different groups recover and flourish after the pandemic ends.

Therefore, support packages and implementation methods must be taken into account, shifting from traditional supports to COVID-19 specific supports to increase efficiency, they suggested.

In 2021, the epidemic is still expected to progress in a complex manner, but positive signs are gradually appearing as COVID-19 vaccines are now being distributed in some countries. The economic growth of Vietnam in 2021 was laid out across three separate scenarios by the VIE research groups. Accordingly, in a base scenario, the country's economic growth is forecasted to reach 5.49%, while the low and high scenarios stand at 3.48% and 6.9%, respectively.

Experts also said that Vietnam can remain in the highest global growth group, if bottlenecks in the economy are drastically removed. There must be renewed thinking and reform of institutions and policies towards creating a more favourable environment to encourage the participation of the non-state sector, as well as mobilising the necessary resources for investment in science and technology and innovation, including breakthrough experiments on institutions and policies.