On the morning of May 16, 2024, in Thu Dau Mot City, the Department of Science and Technology, in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications, the Binh Duong Provincial School of Politics, and National Economics University (NEU), organized a scientific conference on “Developing a digital economy and digital society in the context of industrialization and modernization in Binh Duong Province.”

An overview of the conference

Representing Binh Duong Province at the conference were Nguyen Loc Ha, Member of the Provincial Party Committee’s Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee; Nguyen Minh Thuy, Member of the Provincial Party Committee’s Standing Committee and Head of its Organization Commission; and Nguyen Thi My Hang, Chairwoman of the provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee.

Representing NEU were Prof. Dr. Tran Tho Dat, Chairman of the Science and Training Council; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ta Van Loi, Rector of the College of Business; and Dr. Vu Tuan Anh, Director of the Center for Economic and Business Research and Consulting, along with representatives of the leadership of several faculties and institutes and lecturers from the University.

Nguyen Loc Ha, Vice Chairman of the Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee, delivers the opening remarks at the conference

In his opening remarks, Nguyen Loc Ha, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, emphasized that this was a highly significant conference, launching a series of research activities and scientific discussions and laying the groundwork for Binh Duong Province to implement specific, effective measures to develop a digital economy and digital society. These efforts would contribute to the goal of “sustainable development of Binh Duong Province toward a smart, civilized, and modern urban area,” as set out in the Resolution of the 11th Provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 term.

Prof. Dr. Tran Tho Dat presents a paper at the conference

Alongside the advantages and achievements, experts and researchers at the conference identified several difficulties, challenges, and “bottlenecks” that Binh Duong needs to address as it strives to become a digital transformation hub for the Southeast region. According to Prof. Dr. Tran Tho Dat, Binh Duong has yet to attract strategic investors—industry leaders—and has no specialized industrial parks, product linkage chains, or industry clusters. Regional connectivity infrastructure projects are still awaiting completion. Services have not developed in proportion to industry and urban areas. The private economic sector has not developed strongly. The province’s digital economy development target is highly challenging. Statistics show that the digital economy’s share in Binh Duong remains low, at only just over 8%.

Prof. Dr. Tran Tho Dat stated: “When Binh Duong reached a per capita income of USD 7,000 in 2020, it faced the middle-income ‘trap,’ which it can only escape by changing its development approach. The next chapter of Binh Duong’s success story must be written differently, going beyond simply attracting foreign direct investment. This requires a different mindset and different drivers of growth: growth based on innovation, scientific and technological advances, and a ‘digital’ and ‘green’ economy to escape the middle-income trap.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ta Van Loi, Rector of the College of Business, presents a paper

At the conference, experts and researchers discussed and shared diverse perspectives on the digital economy, digital society, the role of the digital economy, the green economy, e-commerce, innovation, and the development and management of a digital society, among other topics. Papers by Prof. Dr. Bui Minh Thanh, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ta Van Loi, Dr. Nguyen Huu Xuyen, and Dr. Vu Xuan Nam, together with the views gathered at the conference, are very useful for researching and proposing solutions for developing Binh Duong Province’s digital economy and digital society in the coming period.

Some images from the conference:

Article and photos: Center for Economic and Business Research and Consulting and Department of Communications

This is an automated translation. If you notice any errors, please contact the Department of Communications, National Economics University at phongtruyenthong@neu.edu.vn.