Vietnam’s information and communications technologies (ICT) sector earned revenue of some $86.8 billion in the January-August period, down 5 per cent against the same period of 2022, the Ministry of Information and Communications has reported.

Of the figure, earnings from hardware and electronic products reached about $80.8 billion in the eight-month period, in which exports of these products were estimated at $72.8 billion; a 4.7 per cent decline year-on-year.

Electronic goods, computers, and components and phones and components are the two leading groups among the country’s 12 groups of products posting high export value, but nonetheless saw a decline in export volumes compared to the same period last year.

Figures from the General Department of Vietnam Customs indicated that export turnover of computers and components in the first eight months of 2023 was estimated at nearly $35.7 billion, down 6 per cent year-on-year, while phones and components were estimated at over $33.7 billion, a 12.3 per cent year-on-year decline.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, the economic recession shows no signs of recovery in many countries, which together with declining demand for information and technology products, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and lingering post-Covid-19 effects have directly impacted Vietnam’s export of goods and services in general and of information and technology goods and services in particular.

As scheduled, in September the ministry will continue perfecting dossiers to submit to the government to consider the approval of a proposal on formulating the Law on Digital Technology Industry, and will submit to the Prime Minister the Strategy for Developing Vietnam’s Digital Technology Industry by 2023 with a vision to 2030.