VietNamNet Bridge – Leaders of countries which have developed IT industry shared development strategies to help Vietnam become an IT power at the 2010 ASOCIO conference in Hanoi from June 17-20.

Asia-Oceania Computing Industry Organization to meet in Vietnam

The plenary meeting of the Asia-Oceania Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) attracted 150 delegates, including policy-makers, entrepreneurs and leaders of IT associations from 15 countries in Asia and Oceania. Among them were Dr. Dan E Khoo, Chairman of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) and Kien Leong Looi, ASOCIO Chair.

At an international seminar titled “State and Enterprise Cooperation to develop IT,” Dr. Dan E Khoo shared Malaysia’s experience in developing IT. According to Dan E. Khoo, the government has provided incentives in terms of infrastructure, offices, taxes and human resources for IT firms in the last 20 years. From a country which had to import almost all of its IT equipment and services, the IT industry now accounts for 9.8 percent of Malaysia’s GDP. Malaysia has become an IT exporting country.

Kelly Hutchison, of the Australian Information Industry Association, shared experience in building competitive advantages through encouraging creativeness in IT businesses.

A representative from the National Indian Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) said investment in human resource training is the key to the success of the Indian IT industry.

Sugiyama, vice chairman of the Japan Information Technology Service Industry Association (JISA), showed the great opportunities in processing software the Japanese market has capitalized on. He said Japan’s need for software processing rises up to 30 percent a year, reaching $4.3 billion in 2008. Vietnam is now Japan’s third largest software processing partner, after China and India.

Speakers from South Korea and Vietnam said human resources are their top priority. Jeung-bae Son, managing director of the Federation of Korean Information Industries (FKII), said South Korea is implementing an IT human resource training system named Hanium, which is strongly supported by the government. FKII is willing to share this programme with Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong said the Vietnamese government always gives priority to IT development. Hong said Vietnam is building a new IT development strategy, which aims to turn Vietnam into a strong IT country by 2020.

ASOCIO Chairman Kien Leong Looi said the growth of IT development policy in each country is similar to how one builds a football team. The coach must understand his players and use proper techniques to fully utilize all of the strengths of each player and to mitigate the team’s weaknesses.

Looi said governments need to understand the needs of enterprises and society at large and have suitable policies to maximize local resources for IT development. Cooperation between the state and enterprises is the key to creating suitable policies and an amenable environment for the development of an IT industry, said Looi.

Pham Tan Cong, vice chairman cum secretary general of the Vietnam Software Association, said that after the ASOCIO conference 2010, Vinasa and the Council for Policies to Develop Vietnam Software Industry would send their delegations to other countries in the region to gain experience and help create models to develop the IT industry in Vietnam.

ASOCIO is a group of IT industry associations from various economies in Asia and Oceania. Established in 1984, its objective is to promote, encourage and foster relationships and trade between its members, and to develop the computing industry in the region.

ASOCIO represents the interests of 28 economies, comprising 21 members from Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and seven guest members – the USA, UK, Canada, Spain, Russia, France, and Kenya.

Today, ASOCIO’s members account for more than 10,000 ICT companies and represent approximately $300 billion in ICT revenue for the region.

PV