Mobile internet to boost GDP

Estimated impact of mobile internet sector on Việt Nam’s socio-economic conditions during  二0 一 五- 二0. — Source Oxford Economics

HÀ NỘI — Research recently conducted by Oxford Economics says that the mobile internet sector may contribute US$ 五. 一 billion to Việt Nam from  二0 一 五 to  二0 二0, it was revealed at a workshop yesterday.

This amount was equivalent to  六. 二 per cent of the country’s gross domestic products (GDP) growth forecast.

According to the research, the sector is also expected to create roughly  一 四 五, 六00 new jobs for the country during the five-year period, or  三. 二 per cent of the total employment growth estimate.

The mobile penetration ratio in Việt Nam will almost double to nearly  八0 per cent by  二0 二0 from what it was at the end of  二0 一 五, which is expected to match the forecast subscription rate for the entire Southeast Asia (SEA) region.

Those figures would be a great improvement for the sector in Việt Nam in comparison to  二0 一0- 二0 一 五.

During this period, the sector created an output worth $ 三. 七 billion for Việt Nam’s total income - equal to  六. 四 per cent of the country’s total GDP in this period - and helped provide  一 三 七,000 new jobs for local people, the research said.

Active mobile subscription rate per every  一00 habitants in Việt Nam during the previous five years doubled to nearly  四0 per cent at the end of last year from the number in  二0 一 三 after growing adequately between  二0 一0 and  二0 一 三.

There is a lot of room for development of the mobile internet business in Việt Nam as the country had not paid enough attention to improve the infrastructure and create good legal conditions for the businesses, Oliver Salmon, senior economist at Oxford Economics, a British economic advisory firm, said.

Mobile internet applications have become a transformative force in the economy, which allow people and businesses access to a wide range of information and a customer base, according to Oliver.

Mobile internet also helps people connect with each other and provides lifetime education for people via distant learning.

Mobile internet helps improve the function of the labour market, assist people in disadvantaged areas to approach the labour market and enables employees to work long distance.

Việt Nam has its own advantages that can create good conditions to develop the mobile internet business, according to the economist. For example, the country has a youthful population of over  九0 million people and has remained above the average level among middle-income economies.

The country is also able to maintain a good annual growth rate of  六. 五 per cent since  二000, and has performed consistent economic restructuring to reduce its dependence on agriculture, which the research shows.

Rapid growth of mobile internet industry will help add to the country’s income and help the government spend more on social investments, such as raising local people’s living conditions and improving public infrastructure.

The research also found that “Việt Nam represents a strong growth opportunity for mobile internet technology” and "the growth of the industry in the country seems to match with the development of the sector among SEA countries".

Rapid growth in subscription rate was found in the research, which illustrated that ASEAN’s active mobile accounts took off from nearly  二0 per cent for every  一00 inhabitants in  二0 一 二 to roughly  五0 per cent at the end of  二0 一 五. The rate is expected to climb above  八0 per cent by the end of  二0 二0.

Across ASEAN, mobile internet businesses are expected to generate $ 五 八 billion and one million new jobs for the region’s GDP from  二0 一 五 to  二0 二0 from $ 四 七. 二 billion and  九0 三,000 jobs during the previous five years. — VNS