WEF-ASEAN 2018

Hanoi, September 14 (VNA) – Vietnam’s fruitful host of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF-ASEAN 2018) continues reflecting the country’s ever-growing role and credibility that have been regionally and globally recognized.

After the successes of the APEC Vietnam 2017, and the APPF 26 and the GMS 6 in January and March, respectively, 2018, Vietnam took the hosting of WEF-ASEAN 2018 as another step towards realising her foreign policy to “improve the quality and effectiveness of multilateral diplomacy, actively contributing to the building and shaping of multilateral institutions.”

“The WEF-ASEAN 2018 is a chance for us to deepen relations with a wide range of countries and partners, including neighbouring countries and strategic, key partners,” said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in an article welcoming the opening of the WEF-ASEAN 2018.

“This is a channel to strengthen the network of open, multilateral, and diverse foreign relations, thus benefiting our national security and development interests, as well as promoting our national credibility and prestige on the international arena,” he noted.

Having taken place in Hanoi from September 11-13 with a wide range of events, including the Open Forum on Innovative Startup, the Vietnam Business Summit, and the Vietnam Cultural Soirée, the event featured Vietnam a trustworthy, sincere, and responsible partner for the region and the world; and a country where political and social foundation is stable and economy is growing dynamically.

Delegates at the WEF-ASEAN 2018 opening ceremony.

New chapter in Vietnam-WEF partnership

The WEF, founded by Chairman Professor Klaus Schwab in 1971, has been the cradle of innovative ideas for global strategic development.

Vietnam began her relationship with the WEF in 1989 soon after she embarked on the renewal process in 1986. Ever since, the country has proven her active role in the Forum, proposing new ideas and implementing practical cooperation plans with it.

The WEF has, in turn, provided a forum for Vietnam’s leaders and businesses to share ideas on economic reform and bring in international resources and investment opportunities.

This year, as the WEF came to Vietnam for the third time, once again, we were reminded of how far the country has come since her first WEF gathering host in 2010. Vietnam has witnessed stable economic growth, with her gross domestic product doubling and export revenue tripling.

“Vietnam has recorded tremendous success in reaching middle-income status in just a few decades,” said Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Prof. Klaus Schwab.

He praised Vietnam’s pro-activeness in getting prepared for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), saying the WEF looks forward to helping the country navigate the new global context so that it is able to raise growth and living standards even further.

In 2017, Vietnam became the first in the region to sign a cooperation deal with the WEF, seeking world-class expertise on 4IR from the forum to assist her next stage of development.

The cooperation continues growing, benefiting both sides.

As part of her commitments to making contributions to the WEF as an active member, Vietnam considers WEF-ASEAN 2018 one of her biggest diplomatic events for the year.

The event was able to gather a strong representation, including a large number of high-level leaders of the ASEAN countries and their partners, some 1,000 representatives from multinational corporations and ASEAN and global businesses, and around 800 Vietnamese companies.

WEF Chairman Prof. Klaus Schwab said the WEF-ASEAN 2018 was the Forum’s most successful regional meeting, not only in terms of agenda, but also in the organisational work through the rational arrangement of activities, good logistics, and guaranteed security.

According to the WEF leader, the event welcomed a record participation of regional heads of state and government, and saw effective discussions and interactions with a large number of followers both online and at the site.

He attributed the results to the theme “ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which well matches global trends and the interests of the ASEAN countries.

At a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on September 13, the WEF Chairman said that “the number of news items and articles on the WEF event in Vietnam was four times higher than those of WEF meetings in several other regional countries.”

He expressed his thanks to the Vietnamese Party and Government for their attention, support, and effective cooperation together with the WEF to create such a triumphant event.

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Vietnam became the first ASEAN nation to host a regional World Economic Forum (WEF) gathering in 2010 and has been then chosen to organize the Forum’s events for three times, including the freshly wrapped-up WEF on ASEAN in Hanoi.

The WEF-ASEAN 2018 gathered the largest-ever number of high-level leaders of the ASEAN nations and its partners, representatives of multinational corporations at home and abroad.

Commenting on the delegates participation, Justin Wood, Head of Asia Pacific and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum, said: “We are honoured to be welcoming this record delegation of regional government leaders.”

“The ASEAN region is currently one of the world’s brightest spots for economic growth, and their presence shows their commitments to ensuring this will remain the case in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Wood said.

The record-breaking representation of delegates shows Vietnam’s efforts to bring multi-dimensional voices to the event. It also affirms the host’s increasing status and international integration experience accumulated over the years, and its contribution to the development of ASEAN and to the common flow of the world.

The successful hosting of WEF-ASEAN 2018 is an important milestone for Vietnam, leaving impressions on international friends, while contributing to the integration of ASEAN in the 4IR era for regional and global peace, cooperation, and sustainable development.

Promoting an ASEAN identity in 4IR

In the 4IR, ASEAN sees a strong entrepreneurial drive among young population, who are shaping the bloc’s identity towards creativity, empathy, and humane qualities which are unlimited, rather than limited resources as so in previous industrial revolutions.

With a combined population of over 630 million, ASEAN is the world’s third-largest market with 11,000 people entering the labour force a day, offering the third-largest workforce, after China and India.

One in four ASEAN youths show their aspiration of working for themselves and starting their own businesses in the future, according to a survey released in the framework of the WEF on ASEAN 2018 in Hanoi by the SEA – one of region’s leading internet companies.

The survey gathered results through the SEA’s Garena online games and Shoppee e-commerce platforms, which collected responses from 64,000 citizens from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Santitarn Sathirathai, Group Chief Economist at SEA, said that “it is encouraging to see such strong entrepreneurial drive among ASEAN’s young population. It will be important to continue the enhancing SME adoption of digital technologies to ensure young entrepreneurs and small businesses have the resources they need to succeed.”

Commenting on the regional young entreprenership, Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahma in the Open Forum ASEAN as part of the WEF-ASEAN 2018, underlined that the coming tech era falls right in line with the younger generation’s expertise.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese panelist at the open forum Le Hong Minh, CEO of the VNG Technology Corporation called on young people to “think out of the box” to find opportunities for themselves in the 4IR.

Minh addressed the young audience at the forum, saying: “If you find excitement in anything, which others may think is impossible, just go for it, because it could become a reality in 20 years from now,” adding he did the same when starting his business in 2004, which has become among the most creative startups in Vietnam and the world.

Amidst 4IR, the effects of technological transformation are being keenly felt across the region, particularly in youth-run technological startups.

In an interview granted to the VNA on the sidelines of the WEF-ASEAN 2018, expert on merging markets Christopher Marks from MUFG Bank, underlined ASEAN advantage compared to other parts of the world, as a majority of the regional population familiar to technology.

“All of you are younger than I am. You have grown up with telephones and the Internet. You don’t even need to adapt.”

Commenting on regional entrepreneurship, Christopher Marks, said it is the kind of entrepreneurial and innovative spirit which will push ASEAN competitiveness in Industry 4.0.

The world has witnessed a number of highly successful technology unicorns regionally generated in the past few years, including SEA Group from Singapore, Go-Jek, Bukalapak, Traveloka and Tokopedia from Indonesia, Grab from Malaysia, and VNG from Vietnam.

“Having these success stories early on can help countries fully develop their potential in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.

Putting forth a timely theme

As the WEF-ASEAN 2018 host and co-chair as well as a ASEAN member, Vietnam put forth the event’s theme “Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” making sure discussions and interactions were in line with global development trends as well as the bloc’s theme of a “self-reliant and innovative ASEAN Community” set for 2018.

Accordingly, Vietnam has included many issues in the event’s agenda that she and other ASEAN nations are interested in, like innovative startups, infrastructure and smart cities, employment in Industry 4.0, and the development human resources and high-tech agriculture.

In the 4IR, at the core of it are digital technology, the ten ASEAN countries, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, form a quite sizable economy, with over 630 million citizens, of whom, 260 million have a regular access to the Internet.

According to Google and Singaporean Temasek groups, the bloc’s e-commerce currently accounts for less than 1 percent of total retail sales while the regional internet economy is forecast to reach 200 billion USD by 2025, or 6 percent of the region’s total GDP.

“The opportunities brought about by Industry 4.0 are indeed enormous. The start-up atmosphere is truly permeating throughout ASEAN,” Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the opening plenary of the WEF-ASEAN in Hanoi on September 12.

ASEAN leaders agreed that the region is in a good position to take advantage of the new opportunities stemming from Industry 4.0, which are expected to make the bloc the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2020, behind the United States, China, and the European Union.

Digitalization is considered a new catalyst drive for ASEAN to shine.

In an interview with the VNA on the sidelines of the WEF-ASEAN 2018, WEF President Borge Brende, said many ASEAN countries have developed strong national-level plans for their digital economies, like the Smart Nation initiative in Singapore or Thailand 4.0.

Myanmar has made significant technological leaps, seen in a dramatic drop of smartphone prices. Indonesia, meanwhile, welcomes at least four startups each year, each valueing at 1 billion USD, he said.

The technological advancements generated by the 4IR are presenting new opportunities and placing more demands on governments and businesses across the region.

The forum’s theme and agenda have conveyed Vietnam’s dedication to working with the WEF and ASEAN on important issues and help to aid development plans for member states amidst Industry 4.0, ultimately ensuring the bloc can tap these new technologies for its success and realise its 2025 ASEAN Community Vision for the interests of each country, contributing to the regional and global wealth./.

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The World Economic Forum on ASEAN in September, 2018 (WEF- ASEAN 2018), welcoming a record number of regional participants and heads of state, has created create new drivers for Vietnam’s international integration, while serving as a catalyst for the host country Vietnam to harness the revolution to develop its digital economy.

Vietnam, an economic miracle

Nowadays, the vibrant and dynamic energy can be felt in almost every corner of Vietnam, and her socio-economic achievements are evidenced not only in figures, but also in daily life activities, from domestic food serving, shopping, and schooling to networking.

However, just over three decades ago, Vietnam was among the world’s poorest nations, with her per capita GDP stuck between 200-300 USD until 1986, when the Doi Moi (Renewal) policy was introduced, coupled with a series of economic and political orientations.

Since 2010, Vietnam has gained rapid and sustainable economic growth, with her annual GDP growth reaching at least 5 percent and peaking at 6.8 percent in 2017, turning her into a middle-income nation.

These efforts and achievements did not go unnoticed internationally.

As the WEF- ASEAN 2018 took place in Vietnam, the Forum’s official website ran an article titled “The story of Vietnam’s economic miracle”, describing Vietnam as one of the stars of the emerging markets universe, with an economic growth defying the global trend.

The country was named in the WEF’s 2018 Inclusive Development Index as part of a group of economies that have done particularly well at making their growth progresses more inclusive and sustainable. The Forum also recorded the leapfrogs Vietnam has made in global competitiveness, business climate, and the Global Innovation Index.

“Vietnam is one of the stars of the emerging markets universe, with an economic growth defying the global trend,” – WEF.

Meanwhile, the World Bank, impressed by Vietnam’s jump from 104th in 2007 to 68th place in 2017 in its Ease of Doing Business rankings, said the country has made progress on everything.

International experts say Vietnam’s success was buoyed by her embracing trade freedom, with various free trade agreements signed over the last 20 years; external liberalisation, domestic reforms with the birth of the first Law on Foreign Investment soon after the Doi Moi process, enabling foreign companies to enter the country.

Swiftly turns into a digital economy

Digitalisation is present in almost all fields in Vietnam, replacing and upgrading traditional business models, from business registration and e-payments to online retail, property, and banking.

More start-up companies are being born while many have achieved impressive business results in e-commerce, QR code payment, electronic wallet, and e-banking solutions.

“We ensure an open environment for all individuals to take part in e-commerce and digital markets,” Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh told the Digital Markets and Global Opportunity session.

Regarding e-commerce, the sector is growing at a rate of 35 percent a year and predicted to be worth 10 billion USD by 2020, accounting for 5 percent of total retail and services revenue, according to the minister.

Around 30 percent of the population is expected to shop online, spending an average of 350 USD per person annually.

The robust e-commerce growth and potential for the digital economy was attributed to Vietnamese young and dynamic population of about 60 percent aged under 35, who are quick learners of new technologies.

Besides, the country has more than 58 million internet users out of its 90 million people, higher than the world’s average of 46.64 percent, and over 136 million mobile subscribers, with a majority of them use internet-connected smartphones, as of late June 2018, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Vietnam more flexible in Industry 4.0

As Industry 4.0 knocks on the ASEAN door, Vietnam has been using all of its strength and resources to grasp opportunities.

Acting Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said as an emerging economy, Vietnam should be able to take advantage of Industry 4.0, even though she missed the waves of the first three.

“The future does not depend on the past in this era. Developing countries have fewer facilities from the previous revolutions and less legal framework based on these outdated structures, so they have fewer burdens and more flexibility to develop new policies to adapt and accept changes, therefore, they can move faster,” he said when fielding the VNA’s question about Vietnam’s opportunities in the 4IR, during a co-chaired press conference organised within the framework of the WEF- ASEAN 2018.

According to Hung, the 4IR requires a different mindset. Success is not so much about technology, but about policy.

Sharing the Vietnamese official’s view, Christopher Marks, a UK financial expert on emerging markets, said Vietnam is one of the rare cases worldwide that will be able to take full advantage of all new opportunities in Industry 4.0.

Marks, from the MUFG Bank, told the VNA on the sidelines of the WEF-ASEAN that Vietnam is arriving at Industry 4.0 with less institutional constraint and a young population, as well as a very strong and forward-looking leadership in terms of government.

“In many ways, Vietnam has the flexibility to adapt to Industry 4.0 that some new economies with different kinds of resources may not have. In 10 years, we don’t really know for sure what the composition of Vietnam’s GDP will be, but it will definitely be more diversified than some of its neighbouring nations which are relying on older industries,” he said.

Vietnam is currently adequately prepared, compared to other countries, for Industry 4.0. She has been actively researching new global technologies, such as the Internet of Things, big data, and artificial intelligence.

Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, head of the WEF-ASEAN organisation board, said Vietnam hopes to befriend the best.

The WEF-ASEAN gives Vietnam a chance to take advantage of the support of development partners, businesses, and international experts with the wave of scientific-technological breakthroughs, to deepen her integration into the world, he said.

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The World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF-ASEAN 2018), which freshly wrapped up in Hanoi on September 13, has brought substantial and comprehensive values for local stakeholders at all levels by popularising and connecting the Vietnam with the wider global business community, including the WEF member enterprises.

The event has created an opportunity for all agencies, sectors, localities, and businesses to promote, exchange, cooperate, and network with major international and regional corporations, thus expanding their markets and enhancing investment, technology, and tourism attraction, and harnessing external resources.

During the three-day event, Vietnam welcomed nearly 1,000 international businesses, many among the top 500 corporations in the world, with financial, technological, and managerial capacity.

The strong representation of the most elite businesses reflects the confidence of international businesses and investors in Vietnam’s prospects, as well as the country’s attractiveness and the trust that global businesses and international investors place in Vietnam.

Pushing domestic business community

Enhancing the connectivity between FDI and domestic firms is the key to added value increase and Vietnam’s economic development, while increasing the capability and competitiveness of domestic businesses.

“Cooperation with multinational corporations creates opportunities, daring Vietnamese businesses to think big and take big steps to raise competitiveness, quality, and efficiency – aiming for the open seas,” penned PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc in an article on the WEF-ASEAN 2018.

“Cooperation with multinational corporations creates opportunities, daring Vietnamese businesses to think big,” PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

As part of Vietnam’s initiatives in the framework of the WEF-ASEAN 2018, the Vietnam Business Summit 2018 took place under the theme “Vietnam, We Mean Business: Connect and Innovate”, aiming to improve the position of Vietnam in regional and global value chains. It brought together more than 1,200 business representatives from the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and ASEAN.

Addressing the Summit, President and CEO of Vietjet, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, encouraged Vietnamese startups to dream big and bring the Industry 4.0 spirit of digitalisation and automation into their daily lives as well as all their operational business processes.

“Don’t save your dreams. Dare to have big dreams and try your best every day to make them come true,” said the CEO, who founded Vietjet in 2011, named by Forbes in the 40 most valuable brands in Vietnam in 2018.

Thao assured domestic startup businesses that they are not alone in realising their dreams as they have the support of incubators in Vietnam, which is working to become a startup nation and part of a larger ASEAN community that is regarded as the most dynamic and fastest-growing region in the world.

On the sidelines of the WEF-ASEAN 2018, Toby Edwards – CEO of Shipa Freight, a digital logistics platform which has a strong presence in ASEAN and Vietnam – praised the strong entrepreneurial aspirations among Vietnamese youths, as well as their creativity and skills.

“Vietnamese youths have an abundance of skills and good ideas, giving them huge opportunities to build businesses and take advantage of the domestic and regional markets,” Edwards told the VNA.

He also mentioned the opportunities and challenges in the era of Industry 4.0, including providing tremendous global value chain access for SMEs to reach thousands or even millions of consumers and wider markets.

International studies have shown that although 51 percent of Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises enter the global value chain (higher than average 41 percent recorded in ASEAN), their proportion in the chain is far behind their potential and set targets as many companies are still in their early phases.

Luring high-quality FDI capital

Boasting great growth potential, a favourable geographical location, and a large network of free trade agreements, Vietnam is emerging in the region as a key player, with major pull on foreign investment.

Vietnam has taken hold of the opportunity of hosting the WEF-ASEAN 2018 to convey a message to the international business community about its policy and resolve of the Vietnamese Party and State of comprehensive national reforms and active international integration.

The country hopes that the WEF-ASEAN 2018 will be the catalyst, further bring in high-tech projects and attract investment from multinational corporations that can offer Vietnam access to the world’s most advanced technologies and management expertise.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the global businesses at the WEF-ASEAN 2018 would be more encouraged to invest in Vietnam, as they saw for themselves the nation’s growth, and efforts towards improving the investment climate; as well as the Vietnamese people who are friendly, hospitable, creative.

The Vietnamese Government continues to work towards the better legal framework and improving the country’s competitiveness to attract high-quality FDI projects that suit the Government’s socio-economic development strategy in the context of Industry 4.0.

FDI capital has become one of Vietnam’s most important economic sectors and made great contributions to the national socio-economic development and transformation. FDI projects help Vietnam create spearhead industries, and improve its production and export capacity, thus increasing revenue for the State budget, creating millions of jobs, and stabilising the social economy.

More than 182 billion USD worth of capital has entered Vietnam since the Law of Foreign Investment took effect in December 1987, with FDI projects accounting for 25 percent of the country’s total socio-economic capital and 70 percent of its total export turnover.

Thanks to Vietnam’s increasing attractiveness to foreign investors, international manufacturing sector is moving to the country, expanding room for logistic services, particularly in the 4IR with drones at warehouses, AI in automation, and online freight platforms.

Sushant Palakurthi Rao, head of Global Partnerships at Agility Group, has made comments on Vietnam’s investment climate in an interview granted to the VNA on the sidelines of the WEF-ASEAN 2018 in Hanoi. Agility Group is a leading global logistics group with offices in more than 100 countries, including some ASEAN nations. It has over 25 years of experience operating in Vietnam.

Following is the full text:

Reporter: Over the last 30 years, Vietnam has actively improved its business environment in order to attract more foreign investment. How do you assess the results achieved from this?

Sushant Palakurthi Rao: We heard at the WEF on ASEAN conference, from Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other leaders, how FDI is growing in the country. From the mere 10 billion USD in 1988 when Vietnam first started absorbing FDI, the country’s total export revenue is now expected to hit 225 billion USD in 2018. In particular, over 50 percent of Vietnam’s total industrial production value comes from FDI firms.

I believe the numbers do the talking. Companies make their business plans carefully because it is a very competitive world. So if a lot of FDI is flowing into Vietnam, it means there is an increasing confidence among investors in the market in terms of administrative procedures, labour productivity, connectivity, and infrastructure.

We can see increasing manufacturing here. If you are a manufacturer and looking for a country to invest in, you will think, okay, I have access to Vietnam – a big talent pool, more and more skills, flexible, very suitable for what I need. I can move my products easily out of Vietnam to my export markets.

The FDI flow figures show Vietnam’s investment environment is becoming more facilitating for businesses. They also attest to the role of the Vietnamese Government and it is this fact that helps facilitate the country’s investment climate.

Reporter: Foreign-invested enterprises have become an important driving force for Vietnam’s economic development and international integration. Vietnam is looking forward to boosting the sector. In your opinion, what should we do to complete this mission?

Sushant Palakurthi Rao: Let me tell you this. I opened the newspaper Vietnam News the other day. I don’t know if it is you (the Vietnam News Agency) or your competitor, my apologies, but there was a story in there about how local authorities in Vietnam are now trying to move a lot of activities online. A lot of admin things going online will have a very positive impact, not only to the business ecosystem. But it also gets citizens to work in that mindset. The Government is making some good strikes in that sense.

What I can see in practice is that the Government plays an effective role in facilitating, encouraging, and incubating. All I want to say is that the Vietnamese Government and authorities are doing a good job in making Vietnam an attractive place for foreign investors.

From a logistics and freight point of view, Vietnam has a lot of capability for distribution, which is clustered around the manufacturing zones across Vietnam. We hope that our growth of hubs in Vietnam could stretch to many. It could go to Hai Phong, Hue, Da Nang, etc. Growth hubs could be well spread across the incredible geography of this country. The growth will help more equitable development for the nation. That will also be good for logistics and the private sector because it allows SMEs located elsewhere in other provinces to have greater access to the national capacity.

Connectivity is the key to this kind of growth. If Vietnam becomes more convenient to do business, you are going to get more businesses.

Reporter: Agility is a global logistics group with offices throughout over 100 countries, including ASEAN. In Vietnam, you have offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. With the experience of operating in air, ocean, and road logistics in Vietnam for 25 years, how do you place Vietnam’s market against other countries in the region?

Sushant Palakurthi Rao: We have a very strong presence in ASEAN. We see Vietnam as a key part of ASEAN, providing a lot of opportunities for us. We look for local talents, knowledge, and key local resources in logistics to help us build our global network.

In Agility’s recent report on emerging markets in logistics, we analyse how countries are performing and improving their logistics environment. If you look at our top 20 company performers in the report, five of them are from ASEAN and one is Vietnam.

Vietnam has become an increasingly important market for us. The country is growing at about 7 percent (per year). Any markets that grow that high means they are good for logistics, that logistics are needed. We like to invest in countries that are growing fast.

As mentioned earlier, manufacturing is moving to Vietnam. Our customers move to Vietnam from other countries. One of the reasons is that manufacturers look to diversify their production for various reasons – the cost of labour, market access, and tariffs, etc.

Hanoi is our major export facility. Most of our freights go from Hanoi to Chicago, to Amsterdam, to Europe for example. We have been here for long. We will continue to be here and invest in whatever opportunities arrive towards our customers to support them.

Reporter: The world economy is entering the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. How do you think Vietnam will fit into the revolution and take advantage of it?

Sushant Palakurthi Rao: The Fourth Industrial Revolution offers both opportunities and challenges. I am a strong believer that technology can be an aid that helps processes and systems in every area.

Vietnam is an agricultural country. So, let’s take agriculture as an example. Again, every sector will be touched by the advancement of technologies – and agriculture is, of course, part of it too. If you think about a simple thing like drone technology. It allows you to make predictions, where flooding or drought might take place. Telephones work for fishermen. It is a revolution because it allows you to shorten times between the catch and the move to fisheries, sales, and the market. Drone technology is a good example of the ways farmers are going to benefit and be better prepared for any disruption in their work. That is just one example of how Vietnam can benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Another example of how Vietnam fits in the revolution: I think a meeting like the WEF on ASEAN 2018 is a good indication that Vietnamese leaders and the Vietnamese Government are prioritising new advancements in technology, in science and innovation. They are very keen to see how to capitalise on the opportunities.

“The WEF on ASEAN 2018 is a good indication that Vietnamese leaders and the Vietnamese Government are prioritising new advancements in technology, in science and innovation.”

In just 10 years, Vietnam is now a middle income country. So I think Vietnam is fitting very well.

But it is important that you move with the speed because the changes are fast and require agility. It also requires nimble approaches because the pace is so quick.

Things are getting better, but as we mentioned at the beginning, the competitive pressure never stops – and the era of technology is definitely one of those competitive pressures.

Reporter: Thank you for your time./.