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Absorption capacity and social consensus; and (3) Infrastructure and trust-guaranteeing
mechanisms. It is the synchronization between these three systems that helps Singapore
move AI from the experimentation stage to the stage of structural integration into the
economy, thereby explaining the increase in the digital economy's share of GDP in the
2024–2025 period.
3.3. Assessment and policy implications for Vietnam
3.3.1 Assessment of Singapore’s AI and digital economy development model
Singapore's AI-linked digital economy development model demonstrates a
systematic approach and long-term capacity orientation. NAIS 2.0 does not merely focus
on promoting technological innovation but designs an ecosystem architecture consisting
of three pillars: activating application demand, developing people and communities, and
building infrastructure and a governance environment (Smart Nation Singapore, 2023).
This structure reflects comprehensive policy thinking, in which AI is considered a strategic
infrastructure of the economy. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated
through practical results. In 2024, Singapore's digital economy achieved a value added of
SGD 128.1 billion, accounting for 18.6% of GDP and maintaining a growth rate higher than
overall nominal GDP growth (IMDA, 2025a). Notably, more than two-thirds of the digital
economy's value added comes from non-ICT sectors, indicating that AI has been
integrated into the operational core of the economy instead of just being concentrated in
the technology sector (IMDA, 2025a). This is consistent with general-purpose technology
theory (Bresnahan & Trajtenberg, 1995), according to which AI has the ability to create
cross-sectoral productivity spillover effects. Another strength of Singapore is building a
“digital trust” layer through an AI governance framework and testing tools like AI Verify
(PDPC, 2020; IMDA, 2022). This helps balance innovation and risk management, reducing
trust costs in the digital economy. However, the Singaporean model also relies on specific
baseline conditions such as a small population size, high income, and strong institutional
capacity, allowing the nation to mobilize significant resources for computing
infrastructure and policy coordination.
3.3.2 Comparative analysis of the Singaporean model with the Vietnamese context
In terms of economic structure, Singapore is a high-value service economy, while
Vietnam still relies heavily on manufacturing and agriculture. Therefore, Singapore's
direction of integrating AI into finance and international trade cannot be transferred in its
original state to Vietnam. However, the logic of “AI-izing” traditional industries still has
reference value. Vietnam can apply AI to improve productivity in manufacturing, supply
chain management, and smart agriculture, thereby improving its position in the global
value chain. Regarding institutional capacity, Singapore has a centralized policy planning
and implementation system, a high speed of adjustment, and strong inter-sectoral
coordination. Vietnam has issued a national AI strategy and a digital transformation
strategy, but the implementation coordination mechanism is still fragmented. This shows
that the degree of compatibility in strategic goals is high, but the degree of compatibility
in institutional coordination capacity is limited. Regarding infrastructure resources,
Singapore invests heavily in data centers and implements the Green Data Centre
Roadmap to ensure sustainable growth (IMDA, 2024). Vietnam is in the process of
expanding digital infrastructure but faces challenges in computing capacity and energy.
Therefore, the degree of compatibility in infrastructure is relative, requiring adjustment
according to financial capacity and national planning. However, Vietnam has some similar
advantages such as a young population, a fast rate of technology access, and a business

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