Nguyễn Đình Cung, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) addresses a workshop on Thursday in Hà Nội, themed “R&D, innovation and economic growth – Korea experiences and lessons for Việt Nam”. — VNS Photo Linh Anh

HÀ NỘI — Digital transformation is a vital step for businesses to stay afloat in the Industry 4.0 era.

The statement was made by Nguyễn Đình Cung, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) at a workshop on Thursday in Hà Nội, themed “R&D, innovation and economic growth – Korean experiences and lessons for Việt Nam”. 

Participating experts focused their discussion on topics such as the Việt Nam–Republic of Korea (RoK) co-operation in research and development amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as the innovation economy, and the RoK’s ICT policy. 

“Industry 4.0, information technology and digital transformation create enormous opportunities and challenges for Việt Nam. However, we must take advantage of new opportunities, actively apply technology and build a proactive business environment to overcome challenges,” Cung said.

“The growth model transformation of enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, is imperative in the promotion of economic growth,” he said. 

Talking about the innovation economy and the RoK’s policy on ICT development, Park Seung Chang, chairman of the Korea IT Ethics Leaders' Association (KITELA), said his country has maintained its first place in the 2019 Bloomberg Innovation Index, followed by Germany.
Although, the gap between RoK and its rivals has been gradually narrowed, the country has maintained the top position in the Bloomberg Index for many years. This index evaluates and ranks economies using data such as expense on research and development (R&D) and the concentration on high-tech companies, Park Seung Chang said.

“In Korea, big corporations like Samsung and Hyundai have high ratings in the areas of creative and innovative activities, higher education and value-added manufacturing,” said Park Seung Chang.

According to him, last year, the RoK issued a five-year plan for 2019-23 to boost artificial intelligence development, as well as ensure the human resources for the work, and investment in infrastructure for the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Chang-whan Ma, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Industrial Technology Association (KOITA), said Korea had rich experience in fostering industries and improving national competitiveness through R&D, focusing on the provision of support for R&D and industrial cultivation on the government level.

“KOITA is a pivotal organisation voluntarily created by corporations aiming at seeking collective industrial advancement in Korea. We have been entrusted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to operate the corporate R&D centre accreditation system since 1991 and have supported the establishment and cultivation of R&D centres affiliated with domestic corporations,” he said.

“We perform corporate R&D support projects across the areas of funding, workforce and patents in association with the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ministry of SMEs and Start-ups.”

According to Chang-whan Ma, the number of corporate R&D centres soared from 1,000 in 1991 to 20,000 in 2009 and skyrocketed to 40,399 in 2019.

Amid changes in the global economy, Việt Nam should develop high value added industries and boost its own capacity for improved production quality, he said.

“Việt Nam needs to secure and adapt new technologies, achieve innovation for manufacturing and reinforce R&D competence of companies,” he said.

“The Government needs to build policies that push the advancement of high-value-added industries, using them as a growth engine,” he said. — VNS