The government has formed a technical working group to formulate a digital economy policy which will function as a roadmap to boost the Kingdom’s economy through technological innovation, an official said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the public forum on Macroeconomic Management and Budget Law 2019, Ministry of Economy and Finance permanent secretary of state Vongsey Vissoth said the working group has already been formed at the Supreme National Economic Council.
He added that the team is set to take one or two years to finalise the draft policy.
Vissoth said the Kingdom has maintained economic growth at a rapid rate for two decades and it will need to look to new technology and digital innovation across different sectors to continue growth.
“When we have this working group in place and are able to set up the right policy, the speed of economic growth will be faster so our target of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 will be achieved,” he said.
According to Vissoth, the policy will need to deal with many areas, including developing infrastructure, logistics, digital connectivity and innovation for young entrepreneurs.
He added that government incentives, such as tax breaks, will be included in the policy to encourage young entrepreneurs to establish their own tech start-ups.
Vissoth highlighted that while most of the world’s largest companies in the past 50 years have been petroleum firms, the trend has changed and technology firms now hold that distinction.
Thul Rithy, co-founder of Koompi – a company seeking to make affordable, high-quality technology devices, and one of Cambodia’s leading voices in technology and entrepreneurship – celebrated the government’s plan to establish a policy towards harnessing the digital economy.
“It is a growing trend – developed countries and developing countries need to target digital development. If not, we lose competitiveness and may end up with nothing."
“We also hope the government will develop a policy to solve our issues related to lack of funds and mentorship, as well as facilitate company registration and tax incentives,” he said.
