Data curbs from Vietnam to Indonesia to hit trade by up to 9%: study

Asia learned 'all the wrong lessons' of China tech crackdown, think tank says

20221212 internet image and a port of HCMC

U.S.-based think tank ITIF has linked a 1-unit rise on a data restrictiveness index to a 0.5% drop in annual trade for five markets in Asia. (Source photos by Rie Ishii and Reuters)

LIEN HOANG, Nikkei staff writer

December 12, 2022 15:01 JST

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Internet crackdowns from Vietnam to Bangladesh cause self-inflicted economic harm by raising the cost of doing business and risk cutting trade by up to 9% in some of Asia's investment destinations, a think tank says.

Countries that force companies to store data on local servers -- an increasingly common policy among Asian governments -- are chasing a "false allure of data nationalism" that only increases import and other business expenses, says a report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation released on Monday.