According to the World Bank, the digital economy’s contribution to Vietnam's GDP has steadily increased in recent years, faster than in Thailand, Indonesia, or the Philippines. Google says Vietnam's digital economic growth rate is the fastest in Southeast Asia.

According to HSBC, Vietnam's digital economic growth rate will continue to lead ASEAN in the near future. Tim Evan, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, said on the digital side Vietnam's very fortunate as it has very young population, roughly 80% of Vietnamese people own a cell phone than the level of Internet penetration. The smartphone coverage is very high.

“I feel that Vietnam has the ability to leap up other countries when it comes to the digital space. You have the fastest growing digital economy in ASEAN. You are number two behind Indonesia when it comes to the number of digital transactions, digital shopping perspective. So the foundation is there, you have a young population that's willing to accept technology, I think the future looks good,” said Tim.

An HSBC survey said 60% of businesses operating in Vietnam plan to invest in technology and digitalization for their current business operations, focusing on digital payments, e-commerce, and artificial intelligence. The annual growth rate of cashless payments in Vietnam is 50%, leading Southeast Asia.

Economists said Vietnam's attractiveness can be attributed to its efforts to set an early roadmap for digital economic development.

Economist Nguyen Minh Phong said Vietnam has spent more than 20 years building mechanisms and policies for the digital economy. Vietnam is one of the few countries in the world that has shaped an early path for its digital economic development, according to Phong.

“This has been demonstrated by the Government’s consistent policy and directives. We’re steadily improving the digital economy, and our target is to increase the digital economy’s proportion of GDP by 2030,” the economist noted.

He added that in some ways, Vietnam has already achieved success, such as creating a workforce with early access to technology, a digital economy, infrastructure for the digital economy, and a legal basis for digital technology and digital security.

A young workforce with a sophisticated awareness of new technologies and digital technology startups are other factors that make Vietnam attractive. Young Vietnamese are becoming leaders of digital transformation, mastering technology, cooperating and connecting with large tech firms around the world to access advanced technology, promoting digital economic development, and enhancing Vietnam's competitiveness in the international arena.

At the recent ASEAN Future Forum 2025 in Hanoi, Mai Huy Tuan, CEO of the SSI Digital Technology Company, said Party General Secretary To Lam has expressed his great determination to bring Vietnam into a new era, saying that if it doesn’t happen now, it will never happen.

“We ask ourselves why a nation with 100 million people, a very young population, and a great love of technology doesn’t organize major international events to bring international partners to Vietnam and develop technology with Vietnam,” said Tuan.

The value of ASEAN's digital economy market is forecast to reach 1 trillion USD by 2030. ASEAN is negotiating the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement. Once it’s completed, the digital market could grow to 2 trillion USD. This is the first legal framework in the region for creating a shared platform to harmonize nations in policies and digital trade.

Participating in the agreement will give Vietnam the opportunity to put the digital economy on a solid foundation as a dynamic market with very flexible consumers and high internet penetration. The Government's determination, the readiness of technology enterprises, and market advantages are creating comprehensive changes in the application of digital technology in all areas in Vietnam, creating new momentum for growth, and boosting the ASEAN economy.