Vietnam needs centre to boost innovation: experts

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam needs to build up the National Innovation Centre to create a technological start-up ecosystem and upgrade the national innovation system, said experts.

The centre plays an important role in bringing new technologies to businesses and individuals, Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said at a workshop on establishing the National Innovation Centre (NIC) held by the CIEM in Hanoi on October 31.
 
Vietnam’s innovation centres can help convert the country into an innovation-driven society based on Industry 4.0 technology, he stressed, adding the NIC will have an advanced development model to create an international-level ecosystem for tech start ups.

Dang Quang Vinh, deputy head director the CIEM’s Business Environment and Competitive Ability Department, said innovation centres in Vietnam have remained outside the world ranking. In the past 10 years, centres supporting start-up enterprises did not succeed in creating a billion-dollar company.

The NIC will be the hub for the innovation ecosystem in Vietnam, Vinh said. In its first stage, the NIC will focus on hardware and software in fields such as smart cities, digital industry (games, advertising, movies and music) and network security.

The CIEM proposed the NIC as a social enterprise with 100 per cent private investment under the provisions of the 2014 Enterprise Law.

The NIC will enjoy business incentives including a 20-year exemption of land use fees, preferential credit and permission for domestic and foreign enterprises in the same field to rent space.

The centre will be located on a 23ha area of Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park. The investment capital is expected to reach 1.9 trillion VND (82 million USD), 1.7 trillion VND of which will be used to build its facilities. Construction will begin in 2019 and should be finished within three years. The centre can begin operating during the second year of construction.

Le Hai Mo, deputy head of the Institute of Financial Strategy and Policy under the Ministry of Finance, said the NIC should be developed under an open model rather than an administrative model.

Cung said the centre must have a high income to attract talented people who have options in other countries.

The centre will contribute to the improvement of the country’s innovation system and to the implementation of the National Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The NIC will have pilot programmes for improving cooperation between the State and businesses for social purposes and the implementation of innovative policies to adapt governance to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. - VNA