Vietnam records high IT growth
Vietnam's information technology (IT) market posted a growth rate of 28.8 percent to US$515 million from June 2003 to May 2004.
Of which, the country's software industry alone was valued at US$120 million, a year-on-year rise of 41 percent, the Ho Chi Minh City Informatics Association said on Monday.
In the reviewed period, Vietnam exported US$30 million worth of software, up 50 percent, recorded domestic sales of one million computers, and saw the number of Internet users rise 2.5 times.
The number of Internet users in the country rose to 4.7 million, or over 5.8 percent of its population, in late May 2004 from 1.9 million in June 2003. Of the figure, the number of Internet subscribers grew to nearly 1.2 million from 466,000.
Vietnam is carrying out a program entitled Digital Opportunities for Vietnamese Rural Youths, aiming to eradicate computing illiteracy, and offering 20 million rural young people access to the Internet by 2008.
In 2003, the country's IT market plus the telecommunication market were valued at nearly US$2 billion, said the association, adding that the figure would increase to US$5.5 billion in 2010.
To reach the target, Vietnam will upgrade IT infrastructure, develop human resources, improve IT applications, and strengthen the domestic IT industry. It also plans to encourage all economic sectors to take part in the IT and communication sector.
Xinhua News - July 05, 2004.
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