Vietnam Sets up Software Service Centre in Ho Chi Minh City HANOI - Ho Chi Minh City has opened a computer software service centre as part of its strategy to expand and develop the industry by the year 2005. The State-owned centre sells software and hardware products, provides technical support to offices, and offers informatics training and other services. Initial turnover of the centre is estimated to hit VND15 billion in the first year and grow an average of 15 per cent annually in coming years, the Nhan Dan (The People) newspaper reported. The centre is one part of a municipal plan to speed up the development of the country's fledgling software industry. Five programmes will be implemented through the year 2005: a comprehensive, large-scaled industry; improving human resources for the software industry; marketing software products; drawing up and applying sound policies to promote the industry; and building advanced technology zones for the software and telecommunications industries. An estimated US$10 million will be invested in the programmes during the 2000-05 period, Nhan Dan said. The money will come from the State budget and taxes on informatics industry activities nation-wide. As a next step, the city will build a 37ha advanced technological zone of informatics industry and telecommunication investing on research activities of the city's universities. The city has set a goal of training between 7,000 and 10,000 software experts by 2005, of whom 3,000-4,000 experts would specialise in manufacturing software products for export. The software market of Viet Nam needs an estimated 11,000 experts by 2005, but training programmes at universities and colleges nation-wide is not expected to be able to meet the demand. The paper suggested that more co-operation with foreign countries is likely to be needed. According to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Viet Nam could gross $500 million from software in 2005 if development goes as planned, and Ho Chi Minh City is expected to account for 50 per cent of all revenue in the sector. However, more encouraging policies will be needed to help Ho Chi Minh City's software industry reach the long-term objectives, the paper pointed out. The Government has to solve existing problems of taxation, capital and infrastructure if informatics enterprises are to be able to function in an integrated way. Vietnam News Agency - May 10, 2000.