Vietnamese ICT firms confident about foray into global markets

Vietnam is one of the biggest markets for information and communication technology (ICT) products and services in the world.

However, in recent years, Vietnamese ICT companies have gradually entering the global market. And they are not lacking in confidence.

In September last year, as the Bach Khoa Internet Security’s (Bkis) BkavPro 2009 Internet Security made its debut, Nguyen Tu Quang, general director of the company, said that they would defeat foreign-made anti-virus software like Symantec and Kaspersky to dominate the local market.

Bkis also plans to sell its products in the global market this year, starting with the US.

Internet security and anti-virus software is not a well developed field in Vietnam and does not have the prestige attached to brands like Symantec and Kaspersky. But though Quang’s declaration seems unrealistic, Bkis’s achievements make it reasonable.

Bkis has successfully built its prestige and won high appreciation from the vicinal and the international internet security community, especially after it helped the US and South Korean governments find the culprits who attacked their networks in July last year.

Bkis is not the only company which is eying the global market. Others have already made their move, like FPT and the military-owned telecom giant Viettel.

After its success in Japan, FPT Software has spread its business to Singapore, Europe, the US, and Australia.

Bui Hoang Tung, director of FPT USA Co. located in California, said FPT decided to enter the US market in the middle of 2008 and already has major global firms as clients, including IBM and Microsoft. Last year, the company’s revenues rose by 300 percent over the previous year.

With resounding achievements in the mobile phone service market in Vietnam, Viettel is confident about scoring successes abroad as well.

In February last year, it opened its first mobile network named MetFone in Cambodia and later in October, launched the Unitel network in Laos. Viettel aims to be the leading mobile services provider in these markets.

Nguyen Manh Hung, deputy general director of the firm, said it would focus on three main markets – Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The company targets being one of the top 20 mobile networks in the world and among the top ten telecom service providers by 2020, he said.

Viettel would try its best to make its slogan “Hay noi theo cach cua ban” (Say it your way) popular in other languages, he added.

Recently, VTC Intecom introduced its digital content services in Korea, China, Laos, and Cambodia and is progressing towards opening branches in Russia, Japan, Indonesia, and some other countries.

According to Nguyen Xuan Cuong, the company’s director, business expansion into foreign markets is the company’s strategic goal.