Vietnam Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in Vietnam, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals.
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Information and Communication Technologies
Last published date:

Overview 

A recent report by Dezan Shira and Associates shows that Vietnam’s ICT industry reached an estimated value of $165.9 billion in 2024, recording an increase of 13.2% from 2023. The Government of Vietnam has identified and prioritized ICT as a major industry and socio-economic growth driver and is urging government agencies at all levels to apply advanced ICT solutions towards the goals of improving operational efficiencies and providing better governance services. In particular, the Government of Vietnam has approved the National Digital Transformation Program through 2025, with a vision toward 2030, which will further support the growth of the ICT market. In the meantime, private sector stakeholders, especially in the aviation, banking, energy, healthcare, broadcasting, telecommunications, and urban infrastructure management sectors, are increasingly employing advanced ICT solutions to enhance operational efficiencies and support sustainable growth. 

Vietnam is expected to continue to import large quantities of ICT hardware, software, and services, as Vietnamese suppliers are still relatively new and may not be able to offer the same range of solutions and services as foreign suppliers. This trend is expected to continue and offers good opportunities for U.S. suppliers. Key players in the hardware market include suppliers from Taiwan, China, the United States, and Japan. Major players in the software market include suppliers from the United States, Germany, China, Russia, Israel, and Vietnam. 

Leading Sub-sectors

Telecommunications 

The telecommunications sector is dominated by state-owned companies, with five mobile operators active in Vietnam: VNPT-Vinaphone, Mobifone, Viettel, Vietnammobile, and Gtel. There are also seven licensed mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), including Dong Duong Telecom (iTel), Mobicast (Reddi), Asim, Digilife, VNSky, FPT Retail, and SkyX. Three network operators, VNPT-Vinaphone, Viettel, and Mobifone, hold a combined market share of more than 90%. A recent report by DataReportal shows that there were 127 million active mobile connections in Vietnam as of early 2025. By the end of 2032, it is expected that Vietnam will have approximately 129 million subscribers, with an average annual growth rate of just 0.5% over the 2022 to 2032 period. By 2032, 89% of connections will be 5G-capable. The Vietnamese mobile market is already highly saturated, with a penetration rate of around 128% and organic growth likely to be slow. 

Revenue from traditional telecommunications services, namely voice and text messaging, which accounted for roughly 54% of the total revenue, is expected to continue to decline due to the saturation of mobile phone subscribers, continued reduced service rates, and popularity of over-the-top calling and texting services. 

Given recent trends, three major operators, Viettel, Vinaphone, and Mobifone, have shifted their focus to providing digital infrastructure and services such as digital services, fiber optic infrastructure, digital payment, and cloud services. These carriers started commercializing their 5G services in the last quarter of 2024. Telecommunications service firms are expected to invest up to $2.5 billion to deploy and commercialize 5G technology from 2020 to 2025.

Smart Cities 

The smart city concept was introduced in Vietnam in 2007 when the Ministry of Construction conducted a study on urban infrastructure planning for the development of a smart city in Vietnam. 48 of the 63 centrally managed cities and provinces throughout Vietnam have been approved to develop a smart city in their localities, to date, as the country has seen a robust urbanization rate of more than 30% per year during the past ten years. According to the Vietnam Urban Development Association, the country has 819 cities as of 2019 and is forecast to have approximately 50% of its population living in urban areas by 2040. The economic growth in urban areas reached an average rate of 12% per year, 1.5 times higher than the national rate. Accelerated urbanization and corresponding economic growth are driving city governments in Vietnam to deploy smart technological solutions towards the goals of developing and managing their urban infrastructures efficiently and sustainably as well as providing digital government services to residents and businesses. 

To achieve these goals, several major cities in Vietnam, especially Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang, plan to develop several Smart Cities projects. Potential sources of funding for the implementation of these projects include the state budget, official development assistance, international loans (including World Bank and Asian Development Bank), and the private sector. As the Government of Vietnam continues to encourage and facilitate public-private partnerships in urban infrastructure projects, more funding will likely become available for the development of smart cities in major cities throughout Vietnam.

Cybersecurity

According to a recent report by Ken Research, Vietnam’s cybersecurity market is forecasted to reach $290 million in total revenue by 2030 and is projected to grow at approximately 16% per year between 2025 and 2030. The World Bank estimates that Vietnam’s digital economy will exceed $43 billion by 2025 as the country pursues projects in e-government, internet of things, smart cities, financial technology, artificial intelligence, etc. However, with this unprecedented growth and demand for digital services throughout the country, the public and private sectors face an increase in cyber threats.

In an effort to improve the cybersecurity capabilities of the public sector, in June 2019, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 14 stating that government agencies at both the national and local levels (municipal and provincial levels), as well as state-owned enterprises, are to strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities by implementing appropriate cybersecurity solutions. Decree 14 mandated that from 2020–2025, the public sector organizations must spend at least 10% of their total annual information technology expenditure on cybersecurity solutions and initiatives. The Government of Vietnam considers cybersecurity a critical part of realizing the country’s strategic goals for Digital Transformation. On August 10, 2022, the Prime Minister signed Decision 964/QĐ-TTg approving the Strategy for National Cyber Safety, Security, Active Responses to Challenges from Cyberspace until 2025 and Vision to 2030. 

Opportunities

Due to their state-of-the-art technology, lifecycle cost efficiency, and customer support services, U.S. suppliers have significant opportunities to sell their products to several market segments in Vietnam. The segments of vertical industry markets, including healthcare, environment, electricity, transport, and education, all present good opportunities. These sub-sectors will offer potential for U.S. suppliers of hardware and software, including peripheral devices, servers, network equipment, cybersecurity equipment and software, and applications. 

Key Project Opportunities:
1.    Smart Cites project in Dong Anh District, Hanoi, $1.3 billion, 2019–2028  
2.    Amata Smart City, Quang Ninh, $1.6 billion
3.    Da Nang Intelligent Traffic System Project, $7 million, 2024–2026  
4.    Ho Chi Minh City Security Operating Center Project, $10 million, 2025–2027 
5.    Lotte Eco Smart City Thu Thiem, Ho Chi Minh City, $900 million, 2022–2028

Further information can be obtained from the U.S. Commercial Service in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City via the following ICT-sector Specialists: 
Resources

Further information can be obtained from the U.S. Commercial Service in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City via the following addresses:

Triet Huynh, Senior Commercial Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service – U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City
E-mail: Triet.Huynh@trade.gov 

Duong Pham, Senior Commercial Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service – U.S. Embassy in Hanoi
E-mail: duong.pham@trade.gov


 

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