Phan Đức Hiếu, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management speaks at the conference. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HÀ NỘI — Business can grow quickly if they stay up to date with technology, but they risk falling behind if they stay stuck in the past, an expert has said.

Lê Xuân Đình, Editor-in-Chief of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Economy and Forecast Review, gave the warning at a conference in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

The event discussed how to help Vietnamese entrepreneurs make the best use of opportunities and apply new technology successfully.

According to Phan Đức Hiếu, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, has significantly changed people’s way of working.

Hiếu said Industry 4.0 was changing the world at an incredibly rapid pace.

On policies to support science and technology for enterprises to adapt to Industry 4.0, Nguyễn Hữu Xuyên, vice director of National Institute of Patent and Technology, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the Government has many policies to help.

However, Xuyên added businesses must be the centre for innovation, to cope with Industry 4.0 to join the global supply chain.

Xuyên also said that businesses must change their awareness of production methods and business environment and change from static competition to dynamic competition.

"To achieve that goal, we have to awaken our own potential to develop technology in the future. The rate of enterprises using technology is increasing strongly. However, the number of large enterprises having self-researched and technology deployment units accounts for less than 3 per cent,” he added.

Võ Trí Thành, director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy, said there must be four premises to keep up with this revolution, including institutions, leaders, enterprises and a good education system. — VNS