VN IT: Catching up with Thailand and going over the Philippines

On December 2, on the web site Financial Express, author David Fullbrook's analysis is very noticeable about Vietnam's information technology industry today.

We would like to introduce the main content of this article .

With the new wave of foreign investment pouring in along with more than 600 companies in the software field, Vietnam's information technology (IT) sector is rapidly developing.

Major investments of giants like Intel and Canon soon poured into Vietnam because it is considered to be the place where IT products cost the cheapest in the region.

Recently, the giant IT corporation of Intel, after only 9 months of establishment, announced plans to increase its investment capital in Vietnam to 1 billion USD from the initial 300 million USD at an assembly and inspection factory. Check electronic chips in HCMC.

Canon also invested $ 1 billion to build a printing factory in Hanoi. Meanwhile, corporations like Alcatel, Fujitsu, and Siemens are also increasing their 'manufacturing in Vietnam' part of their products.

Wherever Intel is present, IT companies tend to rush. A senior expert from the East-West Center in Hawaii said: ' Everywhere Intel goes, it brings a service network - global companies that have to follow Intel .'

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (right) and Intel Chairman Craig R. Barrett (left) witnessed the project investment license award ceremony in Vietnam for Intel Corporation.Photo: VNN

In addition to suppliers from household electrical appliances such as NEC, TDK Services and Kelly's manufacturing giants such as Daewon Semiconductor Packaging, Dainippon Screen, Munters and STATS ChipPAC, Intel's presence here will create opportunities for dozens, if not hundreds of new technology companies of Vietnam.

In contrast, the rapid development of these companies makes Vietnam more attractive to global IT product manufacturers.

Vietnam's IT infrastructure and human resource training are rapidly catching up with Thailand, and may soon overtake the Philippines. Although emerging as a formidable competitor in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is still behind China - a huge market with many suppliers and a strong research base.

However, for Japanese and Taiwanese investors, Vietnam does not have some obstacles as in China. Moreover, the Vietnamese population is younger and aspires to learn more.

Information technology companies rushed into Vietnam because of cheap labor. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) statistics, on average an experienced Vietnamese developer earns $ 7,200 a year, compared with the current level in China of $ 8,900.

Vietnamese companies spend more on research and development than other countries in the region. Specifically, Vietnam spent 1.42% of revenue for research and development (R&D) while Thai IT companies only spent 0.15%.

The average number of days to wait for electricity to enter a new facility in Vietnam is also low, only 17.57 days compared to 23.64 days in Thailand. The number of days waiting to connect the telephone network to the new facility in Vietnam is only 8.83 days while the average in Southeast Asia is 9.32 days, while in Thailand it is 15.52 days.

In some economic areas, Vietnam is growing faster than some neighboring countries such as Thailand. Currently there are more than 13.7 million Vietnamese people, equivalent to 16.5% of the population, regularly use the internet. Of which 3.8 million subscribers are fixed Internet services.

The number of Internet users in Vietnam soared from 8.1 million in 2005 to 13.7 million as mentioned above. Meanwhile in Thailand, according to Thailand's National Center for Computer and Electronics Technology, the current number of Internet users is only 7.8 million, or 8.75% of the population.

The gateway to Thailand with the newly announced global Internet also saw a slow growth rate from 1,010 Mbps in December 2002 to 9,904 Megabits / second in November last year.

In Vietnam, this increase from 3.505 Mbps last December to 5,795 Mbps last September and now exceeds 6,000 Mbps. The broadband solution and the speed of the transmission line are extremely important for the speed of Internet development - a decisive factor for the software services and online solutions, leading to rapid development of many fields. other of Vietnam.

Education is also another important factor for IT technology. There are about 40% of Thai students studying at university level and above while in Vietnam this figure is only 10%. However, Vietnamese high school students are famous for being good at math. This makes Vietnamese students have many advantages if they study information technology.

Ernst's inventor said that he was told by Vietnamese CEOs that Vietnamese students are well-motivated, easy to train and easily go beyond familiar daily tasks to come up with bright solutions. create.

With the help of Intel, Vietnam currently has leading projects using the most advanced technology in information technology, WIMAX, not Wifi technology.