Software city chain in the pipeline

After years of establishment and quantity growth, the Quang Trung Software City is focusing on the quality growth besides the implementation of the Quang Trung Software City chain.

In line with the common trend, last year’s business of Quang Trung Software City Co. (QTSC), the operator of the first Quang Trung Software City in HCMC, was impacted by a variety of factors. The global economic turbulence is still raging while major software markets such as the U.S., the EU and Japan have mired in troubles. These have had direct influence on the software business in Vietnam.

Yet in 2012, QTSC obtained certain achievements even in the hard times. Hewlett Packard (HP) commissioned its project in the software park. QTSC also accommodated KDDI, one of the leading information and communication technology (ICT) providers in the world, an aspiring sign for other software giants.

“Generally speaking, the QTSC brand has been gradually gaining fame worldwide, ensuring a deeper penetration of Vietnam’s software industry into the global supply-production chain,” says Chu Tien Dung, QTSC chairman.

In 2012, QTSC organized a raft of activities to promote business inside the park. The company and its partners held 16 ICT events, attracting 150,000 organizations and individuals. QTSC experts also joined Vietnamese delegations to India, Korea and Japan to seek trading and investment opportunities. Moreover, the software city’s website was re-designed and connected with social networks to entice more ICT multinationals.

A panoramic view of Quang Trung Software City in Dist. 12, HCMC

QTSC received last year 74 delegations from countries around the world. The software park has so far attracted 32 investors and 106 IT and software companies, including 56 foreign IT entrepreneurs.with totally 24,800 people are working and studying at the park. There are seven ICT training schools in this first software park in HCMC.

The QTSC chain in the pipeline

QTSC is trying to complete the master plan to build Quang Trung Software City 2 and set up the QTSC chain. The plan will be sent to the HCMC People’s Committee for approval this year. QTSC is finishing the e-Government project ordered by the northern province of Nam Dinh. This is part of QTSC’s driving ambition to build a number of QTSC parks across Vietnam

The company plans to attract this year at least one ICT giant in the Fortune 500 list and to start construction of two fresh projects. Dung says that attracting more ICT multinationals to the park is one of important duties this year in the roadmap to create the global supply chain. About this trend, Nguyen Huu Le, chairperson of TMA Solutions – a firm operating at QTSC, says that after 12 years of operation, QTSC is now seen as the rendez-vous of ICT multinationals as the park now wins international standards to meet various demands of software processing development in the world.

QTSC will prioritize its support extended to businesses in the park so that they can overcome the economic turbulence and stabilize and expand their operations. In details, QTSC helps enterprises in the park seek business opportunities through the QTSC’s CEO Club, HR Club and workshops.

The company will also work with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to make the QTSC brand and ICT companies widely known at home and abroad. The park is also working with Ministry of Information and Communication, HCMC Department of Information and Communication and Korean International Cooperation Agency to run human resources supporting programs for enterprises. Ngo Van Toan, deputy general manager of GCS, says that the company highly appreciates what QTSC has supported it in past years from infrastructure to business connection and market expansion.

On this occasion, QTSC will send some suggestions to the city authorities asking for solutions to problems its enterprises are facing. Reviewing investment credit policies for projects in QTSC is essential. Realty transfer procedures, temporary import for re-export of equipment and supports to research and development activities are some other suggestions.

Dung says that all these plans and suggestions are aimed to make QTSC the most prestigious software processing and ICT city in Vietnam and in the region in the near future.

Source: By Quang Tuan - The Saigon Times Weekly