Vietnam's creative exports of US$14.15 billion

The Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) in coordination with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, recently hosted a consultative workshop on "Creative economic development: Trends, international experiences and recommendations for Vietnam" in Hanoi.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duong, Director of the General Research Department, CIEM, said: The global export of creative products increased from US$208 billion in 2002 to US$524 billion in 2020, in which Asia has been the largest exporter since 2007.

In particular, the share of creative products has changed significantly since 2006, he said. Exports of CDs, DVDs, tapes, newspapers and other printed materials decreased considerably while exports of media and video game recordings increased sharply. The proportion of creative goods to total exported goods in Asia has kept rising while in other regions such as Europe, North America and Latin America, it tends to contract.

As per the data from CIEM, the global landscape of creative product exports is dominated by the U.S., Italy, Germany, France, the UK, South Korea, Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Japan. These nations collectively contribute to a total export value of US$176.7 billion.

On the other hand, the leading developing economies in this sector include China, Hong Kong (China), Vietnam, India, Taiwan (China), Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Thailand. They have made significant strides in the creative product export market, amassing a total export value of US$277 billion.

Thus, according to CIEM experts, Vietnam is in the Top 3 developing economies in the world in terms of exporting innovative products with US$14.15 billion.

Opportunities for Vietnam to develop creative economy

According to CIEM, creative economic sectors include handicraft, fashion and design, culinary art, performing art, visual art, film and media, information technology and software engineering, tourism and cultural heritage, music and entertainment, publishing and literature, digital content creation, digital marketing and advertising. In particular, the supporting factors for the creative economy in Vietnam are a young, technology-savvy population, enabling policies and rich cultural heritage coupled with the rapid digitalization and economic integration.

According to economic experts, a number of policies regarding creative economic development in Vietnam have been issued, including general policies on investment incentives, tax incentives, land and operating space incentives and commercial laws; science and technology laws and intellectual property laws. At the same time, at the sectoral level, policies on creative economic development are also in place, including Decree 144/2020/ND-CP and Decision 14/2015/QD-TTg.

In the radio and television industry, Decision 512/QD-BTTTT states proposals for amendments and supplements to the Press Law of 2016 and Online Game Development Strategy in 2022-2027. The information technology industry has the Information Technology Law of 2006. The handicraft sector has the Prime Minister's Decision 801/QD-TTg in 2022 approving the Program for preservation and development of Vietnamese craft villages in 2021-2030.

Although there are many preferential policies and mechanisms to fund creative and innovative economic projects, according to Mr. Nguyen Anh Duong, there are still many obstacles in implementing creative economic projects in Vietnam. Specifically, surveys in some localities such as Phu Tho, Son La and Phu Yen showed that the creative economy is still very new and not yet understood consistently.

Thus, to take advantage of opportunities and further develop the creative economy in Vietnam, it is necessary to study experiences in developed countries, according to economic experts. For example, in South Korea, the creative economy has been set as a major agenda and policy since 2013. The South Korean government views the creative economy as a new economic strategy that creates new industries and markets by integrating and adapting the imagination and creativity of science, information and communication technology to create sustainable jobs. Hence, some creative industries in the country have high export value, with games earning US$2.9 billion in 2014.

Or in the United States, currently 4.01% of all businesses and 2.01% of the workforce are participating in various creative industries. Arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.4% of GDP or US$1.02 trillion in 2021. To support workers and businesses in the creative industries, in 2022, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the US introduced the Promoting the Local Arts and Creative Economy Act (PLACE) by increasing federal resources and expanding federal benefits for people using creative skills at work; empowering creative workers, spurring growth in new and existing businesses, and promoting the export of American culture abroad.