Electronics and information technology (IT) have become fast-growth industries and considered to have great potential in Ho Chi Minh City. However, how to create favourable conditions for the industries to develop is what the city’s authorities have been interested in.
Hoang Le Minh, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Post and Telematics, said that electronics and IT had become a driving force for the city’s economic restructuring, with more hi-tech products having been manufactured. With only 400 enterprises and 7,000 workers, the software industry creates revenues of over VND 1,280 billion, equal to revenues of the whole agricultural sector of the city with much more workers. In addition, revenues from IT equipment reached VND 5,120 billion, which together with revenues of telecommunication and the Internet of VND 6,000 billion has brought total revenues of communication and IT (ICT) sector to VND 13,200 billion with an annual growth rate of between 25 and 30 per cent. Ho Chi Minh City has become the largest market in Vietnam.
Despite a lack for orientation and support mechanisms, electronics and IT have seen a rapid development. As a result, Vietnam has emerged on the world map and been considered to have great potential for developing in the region with many large and high revenue earning enterprises having met management and quality standard and found a foothold in the market. In particular, many foreign-invested are promoting their activities in electronics and IT manufacturing and assembly. Many famous groups and companies from around the world, such as Intel, Nidec and HP, have invested in Vietnam.
To create favourable conditions for an economic restructuring throughout 2010, under the resolution of the city’s Party Congress, Ho Chi Minh City will provide more support for local electronics and IT enterprises. Accordingly, the city will carry out at the same time four programmes, four projects and four work items. Four main programmes will provide support in human resources development; business management improvement; market, product and technology information; legal framework and intellectual property right practice. Four projects will aim at the expansion of the Quang Trung software park; the building of the Ho Chi Minh City ICT trading centre, the building of the BPO/call centre, and market promotion activities in Japan. Four work items include the support in management and development of safe and open communication network and the Internet; the development of online payment and security for local banks; application support of computing science and technology in other technical and economic sectors; and the development of design and manufacturing of embedded software in open source technology.
The city is expected to invest between VND 35 billion and 40 billion in five years via the ICT Development Assistance Fund, providing support for human resources development, business management, marketing and trademark promotion, research and technology transfer.
With these efforts, the city hopes to earn between US$1.5 billion and 1.7 billion in revenues of its ITC sector in 2010, accounting for between four and 4.5 per cent of its GDP. Of the figure, between US$450 million and 500 million will come from software and services, between US$1 billion and 1.2 billion, from hardware, electronic and PC manufacturing and assembly. In 2010, the city will strive to have at least five large-sized software enterprises with over 1,000 programmers and annual revenues of over US$10 million each, 100 leading enterprises with over 100 programmers and annual revenues of US$1 million each, over 400 medium-sized enterprises and around 30 enterprises having source technology and spearhead products. The city will also develop three large-sized electronic enterprises with each of them having sales of over US$50 million, and between 100 and 150 small and medium-sized enterprises operating in designing and manufacturing accessories, develop the distribution, retail and after-sale service network, and the support industries.
Thuy Tien
Vietnamese
