Cultural industry - a new engine of economic growth

The shift from cultural management to creating a creative economic ecosystem

One notable point is that the draft Law on Cultural Industry Development has approached the issue in a relatively comprehensive manner. The scope of regulation extends beyond the management of cultural activities to include ecosystem development, creative support, the establishment and valuation of intellectual property rights, human resources, infrastructure, markets, finance, and investment incentive.

Several groundbreaking new policies can be seen in the draft Law. Firstly, it elevates intellectual property rights to a type of asset that can be used to raise capital and participate in credit relationships. This is one of the new points with significant economic implications, opening up a new method of capital mobilization for innovative businesses.

Secondly, establish a controlled testing mechanism for new business models and cultural products. This mechanism should prioritize areas such as film, music, fine arts, cultural tourism, design, fashion, handicrafts, video games, cuisine, and digital content. This approach is suitable for the characteristics of the creative economy, where technology and business models change very rapidly, while the process of building and amending often takes a long time.

Thirdly, establishing a cultural industry exchange platform would create a market for intellectual property and products. This idea could bring about significant changes in how creative assets are commercialized. A transparently organized exchange platform could help connect supply and demand, establish reference prices, promote copyright transactions, and facilitate the wider exploitation of commercially viable works.

Fourth, build a national digital cultural data repository, considering data as a crucial infrastructure for the cultural industry. This is not just a data storage tool, but can become a vital infrastructure for developing the creative economy.

Fifth, the formation of cultural innovation complexes and clusters/zones of cultural innovation industries could be established in urban areas, residential areas, cultural tourism areas, or in factories and other buildings whose functions have been converted. This idea has practical value, especially for old buildings, factories that are no longer operating, and industrial spaces or urban areas that have not been effectively utilized.

Sixth, innovate the mechanisms for mobilizing capital and providing investment incentives for the cultural industry.

The draft law addresses the use of financial resources from the state budget, investment support funds, other legal funds, and capital from domestic and foreign businesses, organizations, and individuals. In addition, projects in cultural and creative industrial clusters and zones are proposed to receive investment incentives similar to projects in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions; some projects will enjoy preferential treatment regarding land, taxes, and investment credit according to relevant laws. This approach reflects a shift from supporting culture primarily through budget allocations to mobilizing social resources, private capital, and venture capital.

For the bill to create a real breakthrough

The policies in the draft law are an important step forward, but for the law to truly become a driving force for economic development, several issues need further attention.

First, it is necessary to clearly define the criteria for selecting key cultural industrial products and products with Vietnamese cultural identity, ensuring objectivity and transparency, and avoiding a system of favoritism. The identification of key products must be linked to cultural value, commercialization potential, influence, export potential, and contribution to the economy.

Secondly, it is necessary to clarify the mechanisms for valuing, verifying, and exploiting intellectual property assets. This is the foundation for intellectual property rights to truly become assets that can be contributed as capital, mortgaged, transferred , and traded. Without a reliable valuation market and an effective mechanism for protecting intellectual property rights, credit policies based on intellectual property will be difficult to implement effectively.

Thirdly, it is necessary to ensure consistency between the Law on Cultural Industry Development and laws on land, investment, construction, taxation, intellectual property, data, e-commerce, and science and technology. Incentive mechanisms must clearly define the target groups, conditions, timeframes, and responsibilities, avoiding overlaps or the creation of new legal loopholes.

Fourth, there needs to be a mechanism for evaluating policy effectiveness based on concrete economic results. This should not only assess the number of supported events, projects, or products, but also measure revenue, added value, jobs created, creator income, the number of commercialized copyrights, export value, and contribution to GDP.

Finally, it is necessary to ensure harmony between economic goals and cultural values. Developing the cultural industry does not mean commercializing all heritage values ​​or pursuing profit at all costs. The exploitation of heritage must be linked to preservation, respect for the community, safeguarding identity, and ensuring people's right to access culture.

Vietnam's innovative driving force for growth

Developing the cultural industry is not just about exploiting the existing values ​​of history and tradition, but more importantly, about transforming the national identity, intellect, and creativity of the Vietnamese people into products and services with economic value and international competitiveness.

The draft Law on the Development of the Cultural Industry, currently under discussion in the National Assembly, has opened up many new approaches: incorporating intellectual property into credit relationships; building an exchange platform for intellectual property products and rights; establishing a national digital cultural data warehouse; piloting new business models; developing creative industrial complexes and zones; and mobilizing venture capital for creative projects.

These policies have the potential to bring about structural changes in the cultural economy, from dispersed creative activities to organized ecosystems; from cultural resources to assets that can be valued and commercialized; and from domestic markets to international value chains and markets.

To realize the goal of the cultural industry contributing approximately 7% of GDP by 2030 and 9% by 2045, a synchronized transformation in thinking, institutions, resources, and implementation methods is needed. Culture cannot be viewed merely as a sector that benefits from the budget, but must become a crucial resource for creating value and promoting development. Simultaneously, economic development cannot be separated from its cultural foundation, national identity, and the holistic development of human beings.

When culture is connected with technology, innovation, and markets; when intellectual property is protected and becomes an economic resource; and when businesses have a favorable environment to invest, produce, and export innovative products, the cultural industry will become a new growth engine, contributing to increased productivity, competitiveness, and national soft power.

This is also the path for Vietnam to not only be a country rich in cultural resources, but also to gradually become a nation capable of creating, owning, and exporting high-value cultural industrial products.