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SINGAPORE'S EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPING A NATIONAL DIGITAL ECONOMY
STRATEGY IN THE AI ERA: POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR VIETNAM

1
Dang Thu Thuy* , Nguyen Trung Hau , Tran Hoang Minh 3
2
1 Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam.
2 Central Commission for Policy and Strategy, Hanoi, Vietnam.
3 Lac Hong University, Dong Nai, Vietnam.
(*E-mail: thuy0183@gmail.com)

ABSTRACT
In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), the digital economy is emerging as a crucial
pillar for national growth and competitiveness. This article analyzes Singapore's experience
in developing and implementing its National AI Strategy 2.0 (NAIS 2.0), elucidating the
relationship between policy design and digital economic growth outcomes during the
2024–2025 period. Drawing upon endogenous growth theory and a trustworthy AI
governance framework, the study reveals that Singapore's success stems from an
ecosystem approach, encompassing the promotion of AI adoption across the entire
economy, human capital development, investment in computing infrastructure, and the
establishment of governance mechanisms to foster digital trust. Through a case study
methodology and policy document analysis, the article contrasts the Singaporean model
with the Vietnamese context and proposes several specific, prioritized and context-sensitive
policy recommendations for sustainable digital economic development in the AI era.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence; digital economy; policy implication; Singapore;
Vietnam.

1. Introduction
Entering the third decade of the 21st century, AI has transitioned from a specialized
technological field into a general-purpose technology capable of comprehensively
restructuring socio-economic systems. Economic innovation studies indicate that general-
purpose technologies like AI have profound spillover effects on productivity, market
structure, and business models (Bresnahan & Trajtenberg, 1995). In the current context,
the rapid development of generative AI, coupled with big data processing capabilities and
cloud computing, is fundamentally transforming production methods, corporate
governance, financial service provision, and public sector operations (Brynjolfsson &
McAfee, 2014; OECD, 2019).
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) affirms that
AI not only drives economic growth but also poses new demands for governance,
transparency, and accountability to ensure “trustworthy AI” (OECD, 2019). Concurrently,
recent international reports emphasize that generative AI has the potential to increase
labor productivity and profoundly restructure the global job market, yet it also entails
risks of skill inequality and ethical hazards if an appropriate governance framework is
lacking (International Monetary Fund, 2024). Thus, in the AI era, national competitiveness
no longer solely relies on physical capital or cheap labor but increasingly depends on data
capabilities, digital infrastructure, and technology governance institutions.
For developing countries like Vietnam, seizing opportunities from AI is both a
condition for narrowing the development gap and a strategic imperative in an increasingly

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