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The ASEAN region has recently witnessed a swift expansion of its digital economy.
ASEAN has taken a proactive stance by launching various initiatives to address challenges
and capitalize on the digital economy's potential. Initial efforts included the ASEAN
Framework on Personal Data Protection in 2016, followed by the ASEAN Digital Data
Governance Framework in 2018, the ASEAN Digital Integration Framework Action Plan,
2019–2025, in 2019, and the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework in 2020.
Additional initiatives comprise the ASEAN Data Management Framework (2021), ASEAN
Digital Masterplan 2025 (2021), Work Plan on the Implementation of ASEAN Agreement
on Electronic Commerce (2021), Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap (2021), Boracay Digital
Declaration (2023), and ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (2023) (Ing et al.,
2025). In 2022, ASEAN's economy was valued at nearly US$300 billion, generating over
150,000 highly skilled jobs and nearly 30 million related jobs, with expectations to reach
US$1 trillion by 2030 (Liang et al., 2025).
Within ASEAN, Singapore stands out as a leading nation in the digital economy. In
2022, Singapore's digital economy, which includes the value generated from information
and communications (IT) activities and related economic sectors, contributed US$79
billion, representing about 17% of the nation's GDP, up from US$43.2 billion or 13% of
GDP in 2017. The adoption of digital applications in small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in Singapore has increased significantly, from 74% in 2018 to 94% in 2022. Key
growth areas in the IT sector include e-commerce and online services, with significant
value addition coming from the financial and insurance sectors, followed by
manufacturing and wholesale trade (IMDA, 2023). Similarly, Malaysia's digital economy
has made substantial progress over the years. In 2023, Malaysia attracted digital economy
investments totaling approximately US$6 billion (Forbes, 2023). The digital economy plays
a crucial role in Malaysia's economy, contributing 23.4% to the national GDP in 2024, with
growth driven by IT services and e-commerce (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2025).
Similar to Singapore and Malaysia, the Vietnamese government has made
considerable efforts in developing the digital economy. More specifically, Circular
13/2021/TT-BKHĐT, released on December 31, 2021, specifies the statistical indicators for
the digital economy in Vietnam. It characterizes the digital economy as economic
activities that mainly depend on digital information and knowledge for production; use
the Internet and information networks as their operational domain; and leverage
information and communication technology, including electronics, telecommunications,
and IT, to enhance labor productivity and optimize the economy. The digital economy
includes services such as digital infrastructure, platforms, and applications. Alongside
notable economic growth in recent years, the digital economy, particularly the ICT and e-
commerce sectors, has played an increasingly significant role in Vietnam, owing to its
efforts to nurture various aspects of the digital economy. However, Vietnam encounters
significant challenges in developing the digital economy, such as the absence of a
framework with clear implementation metrics, a shortage of digital skills, and modern
infrastructure. The effectiveness of collaboration between governmental bodies,
educational institutions, and enterprises remains limited. In this pursuit, Vietnam must
learn from international experiences in digital economy development. The case studies of
Singapore and Malaysia will thus provide valuable insights for Vietnam.
This article, employing a qualitative approach and secondary data from diverse
sources, identifies key policies as well as achievements and limitations in digital
economy development in Singapore and Malaysia. Drawing from these experiences

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