Workshop to focus on post service

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) will host the second regional Universal Postal Union (UPU) workshop.

Participants at the workshop will focus on ways to ensure sustainable development in the postal sector, including discussions on the environment, economy and society. Workshop leaders will also conduct an action plan on sustainable development with 20 goals.

According to VietnamPost this workshop will be attended by delegates from 20 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific and representatives of the French Republic and local ministries and agencies as well as some foreign organisations in Viet Nam.

Gov’t proposed to restart key IT projects

The HCMC Computer Association has proposed the Government restart key information technology (IT) projects to support enterprises in this sector.

Speaking to the Daily, Chu Tien Dung, chairman of the association, said that the hard reality which IT enterprises are facing is that the local IT market seems to have been frozen as most sectors have reduced budgets for IT spending.

According to the association’s quick survey, many small-scale IT firms having little capital, weak human resources and no remarkable products have temporarily suspended their operations.

Meanwhile, medium-scale ones active in the fields of integrated systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and other IT solutions are also scaling down operations and lay off workers.

The growth of enterprises in integrated systems and solutions has slowed down compared to previous years, with an average rise of only 5%. Meanwhile, outsourcing firms and ones providing mobile applications enjoyed better growth.

One of the reasons for the frozen market is the Government’s policy of cutting spending on IT issued early last year, which has left a huge impact on the business environment of IT enterprises.

According to Dung, IT projects of the Government have accounted for 40% of the total, and thus to boost the market, the Government should allow some key IT projects to be restarted.

Dung said the IT market’s development this year would slow down with a growth rate of only 15% compared to the growth of 20-25% recorded in previous years.

Main cities steady in outsource ranking

HCM City and Ha Noi have held their rankings among the top 100 IT outsourcing cities of the world last year, says international market researcher Tholons.

HCM City slipped one position from 2010 while Ha Noi kept its place, Tholons said.

In 2009 the two cities dropped from fifth to tenth, losing their worldwide edge.

Tholons forecasts, however, that Viet Nam would emerge as one of the major providers of information technology services outsourcing in Southeast Asia, and could replace China and India.

The global adviser said despite experiencing a stagnant growth rate, HCM City had a chance to boost its attractiveness of software outsourcing.

According to the Viet Nam Software Association, HCM City and Ha Noi accounted for 90 per cent of the country's software outsourcing revenue in the last several years.

Low labour costs, improved business environment and a skilled workforce were the main factors attracting leading technology firms such as Intel, IBM and Siemens to set up distribution centres in Viet Nam, the association said.

The salary for Business Processing Outsourcing personnel in Viet Nam was about 75 per cent lower than Chinese major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Dalien.

Meanwhile, thanks to a long period of French rule, Viet Nam had an advantage in the French language, which could attract French firms such as ESI, Mega International, Sysun and Worketer. Some have already visited HCM City and Ha Noi to find business opportunities.

Tholons said India was the top outsourcing nation with six cities among the top 10. They were Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.

Mobile-phone expo, conference on track

A mobile phone exhibition and conference to be held in Ha Noi in October was expected to attract 500,000 visitors and more than 100 media organisations, organisers said yesterday.

Mobile Viet Nam 2012 was predicted to be the largest and most influential gathering in the rapidly growing Vietnamese mobile industry to date.

With a growth rate of 19.2 per cent this year, experts predicted Viet Nam's total IT market would top US$3.25 billion, which would make it among the top IT spenders in the Asia/Pacific this year.

Smartphone shipments made up 9 per cent of the mobile market in the second quarter last year. This amounted to over 400,000 units. The global market intelligence firm IDC estimated this year the tablet market in Viet Nam would grow 92 per cent year-on-year.

Mobile Viet Nam 2012 will be organised by the Centre for Press and International Communication Co-operation of the Ministry of Information and Communications; the Viet Nam Exhibition Conference and Advertisement Joint Stock Company, and Number One Media Technology Corporation.

The exhibition and conference will be held at the International Exhibition Centre on Tran Hung Dao Street from October 18-20.

It is being sponsored by the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Science and Technology, and Planning and Investment; the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce; the Media and Information Technology Industry and the Viet Nam Advertising Association.

Capital city hosts info tech summit

The 2012 Viet Nam Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Summit will be held in Ha Noi on June 26 and 27.

With the theme "ICT, National Core Infrastructure", the summit will promote modernisation of the nation's infrastructure by applying information technology.

This year's summit will also focus on applying ICT to deal with hot issues such as traffic jams and accidents, educational reform, development of smart cities and electronic ID cards.

Ericsson VN to provide internships

Ericsson Viet Nam will offer a three-month internship for talented Vietnamese students who graduated from universities specialising in telecommunications and the IT sector.

This programme includes the opportunity to work in a real IT environment and get involved in technology courses to learn skills related to making presentations. At the end of the programme, members will be issued certificates from Ericsson confirming their capacity to adapt and join the ICT industry in Viet Nam.

This programme, titled ‘Ericsson Graduate Program' will provide the opportunity for students to take part in courses at the Ericsson Academy.

SAP Viet Nam appoints new MD

SAP has appointed Pham The Truong as its new managing director in Viet Nam in a bid to promote business growth in the local market.

Darren Rushworth, general director of SAP Viet Nam and emerging markets, said it was the first time the firm had appointed a Vietnamese person in the position.

Truong was hired as he has a deep knowledge of the local markets that could help SAP further invest in Viet Nam.

Ha Noi hosts information technology summit

The 2012 Viet Nam Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) Summit will be held in Ha Noi on June 26 and 27.

With the theme "ICT, National Core Infrastructure," the summit will promote modernisation of the nation's infrastructure by applying information technology (IT).

This year's summit will also focus on applying ICT to deal with hot issues such as traffic jams and accidents, educational reform, development of smart cities and electronic ID cards.