VietNamNet Bridge - Technology giant HP will open a software research and development center at Quang Trung Software City (QTSC) next week.

Chu Tien Dung, chairman of Quang Trung Software City Development Company, said at a press conference on Wednesday on QTSC’s 10th anniversary celebration ceremony slated for March 16 that HP had completed the investment procedure and QTSC had also finished technology infrastructure for the company.

The software R&D facility will be up and running on March 16, the day QTSC turns 10, said Dung, and HP mainly invests in software R&D for the corporate segment. The corporation will have an initial work force of 50 software developers in Vietnam.

“In the future, HP will expand its team to 1,000 developers,” he said. Explaining HP’s decision to set up such a facility in QTSC, he said HP saw local employees meeting high requirements for technology skills.

For HP, local labor cost is more competitive than in China and India, he said.

Dung forecast Vietnam would be able to attract more foreign IT companies to set up shop in the next few years.

To attract these companies, QTSC will revise its investment portfolio by allowing enterprises to expand into green technology which supports software, digital content and information technology.

The company is also seeking the green light from the HCMC government to turn QTSC into a holding company or set up a joint venture to effectively seek more capital.

QTSC is now home to 101 information and communication technology companies with total investment pledges of over US$78 million, and 43 of these enterprises are from other countries.

Last year, the companies at QTSC reported total domestic revenue of over VND763 billion and software export turnover of US$34.8 million.

The biggest revenue generators include TMA Solutions with VND207 billion, GlobalCyberSoft with VND130 billion and GHP Far East with VND45 billion.

Source: SGT