Vietnam demonstrates robust digital growth momentum in the early months of 2026. The digital economy’s contribution to GDP increased consistently from 12.87% in 2021 to 14.02% in 2025. The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report projects that Vietnam’s digital economy will reach USD 39 billion by the end of 2025, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 17% and positioning the country as the second-largest digital economy in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia.

Sustaining this scale requires governance infrastructure capable of managing the risks and complexities. In this regard, 2026 marks a pivotal moment. Several key pieces of legislation have taken effect or will come into force in the coming months, including the Law on Artificial Intelligence (effective 1 March 2026) and the E-Commerce Law (targeted to be effective 1 July 2026). Both laws establish overarching principles and frameworks, with substantive detail to be defined through subordinate regulations such as decrees, circulars, and implementation roadmaps. The AI Law provides compliance windows of 12 to 18 months depending on the sector, while the E-Commerce Law requires full compliance from 1 July 2026. In both cases, implementing regulations are still under development.

Against this backdrop of a shift in policy focus from legislative design to implementation, the Tech for Good Institute (TFGI) and the Academy of Policy and Development (APD) co-hosted a roundtable on “Technology Governance Trends in Southeast Asia: Policy for Advancing Frontier Technologies” on 9 April 2026. The session brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers to explore how governance can move effectively from policy to practice amid rapid technological change. The event also marked the launch of the third edition of TFGI’s annual report, The Evolution of Tech Governance in Southeast Asia (2026), which examines evolving governance frameworks across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and represented the third stop in TFGI’s six-part regional roundtable series.

Moderators and Speakers

• Mr Nguyen Huu Tuan, Director of the Center for E-commerce and Digital Technology Development, E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade
• Dr Nguyen Xuan Hoai, Director, AI Academy Vietnam
• Dr Pham Hoang Mai, Former Director, Dept of Foreign Economic Affairs, (former MPI) / Academy of Policy and Development
• Dr Nguyen Quoc Viet, Public Policy Expert, Hanoi National University
• Dr Nguyen Nhat Quang, Vice President of the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association
• Mr Nguyen Quang Dong, Director, Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development
• Nguyễn Thế Hùng, Vice President, Academy of Policy and Development
• Dr Nguyen Minh Thao, Deputy Head of the Department of Business Development, National Institute for Economics and Finance
• Arifah Sharifuddin, Institute Director, Tech for Good Institute
• Keith Detros, Programme Manager, Tech for Good Institute 

Key Takeaways

• Implementation should be practical and fit-for-purpose

Vietnam’s legislative accomplishments in 2025 and 2026 have laid significant groundwork. However, as participants noted, if laws are not aligned with economic realities, they will fail to achieve their intended outcomes. As guiding decrees for both the AI Law and the E-Commerce Law are being drafted, participants emphasised that effective implementation depends on regulations that are technically feasible, tailored to different stakeholders, and focused on measurable outcomes.

Participants emphasised that highly stringent regulations will hinder adoption among smaller enterprises that do not possess the compliance infrastructure available to larger organisations. To reach the necessary threshold, it is essential to proactively partner with businesses right from the start of the decree drafting process, ensuring a collaborative co-design approach.

• Effective governance requires co-creation, not just legislation

Establishing framework laws is essential; however, it alone does not guarantee effective governance. Participants stressed that translating legislative principles into effective, workable rules requires sustained collaboration between government, industry, technology practitioners, and research institutions. This collaboration should be embedded as part of a continuous governance process to ensure that regulations are operational. It is recommended to formalise AI governance through a dedicated public-private steering mechanism, ensuring that the voices of enterprises, research institutes, and industry are integrated in the policy design.

Sandbox mechanisms were also identified as a practical instrument for integrating co-creation into the implementation process. Controlled experimentation enables governments and enterprises to jointly manage risk, evaluate strategies, and improve regulations before committing to enforceable mandates. Singapore’s experience was cited as a key regional reference point.

• Institutional capacity and cross-border interoperability are equally critical

The effectiveness of governance frameworks depends not only on laws, but also on the institutions that implement them and the regional standards that connect them. Participants recognised that institutional capacity and cross-border interoperability serve as the two essential pillars supporting Vietnam’s digital governance aspirations, highlighting the most considerable gaps that currently exist.

Domestically, agencies face the challenge of implementing complex new frameworks while navigating across multiple regulatory mandates and institutional responsibilities, often in a context where technologies evolve faster than regulation. For example, new laws or sandbox initiatives that create opportunities in one sector may encounter constraints from existing regulations in another. Addressing this requires structured cross-agency coordination mechanisms with well-defined processes to identify and resolve regulatory inconsistencies during the drafting phase.

Externally, divergence from regional and global norms carries economic risks. The compliance burden could deter foreign investment in favour of neighbouring markets. Interoperability is, therefore, not simply a technical question but also a competitiveness imperative.

The ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) was highlighted as an essential tool for establishing uniform standards in cybersecurity and intellectual property, enabling Vietnamese businesses to participate in regional markets under more consistent regulatory conditions.

Bridging both domestic and external dimensions will require continued investment in regulatory capability, not only through expanding personnel, but also through strengthening technical expertise and the ability to engage  effectively with rapidly evolving industry developments.