Software industry looks to extend 2013 growth trend  The information technology industry, especially the software sector, developed strongly last year and promises to enjoy high growth this year and in coming years.   "Most enterprises in the software and IT services industry achieved a growth rate of 30 per cent or more last year," said Le Manh Ha, deputy chairman of the HCM City People's Committee. - Photo thesaigontimes Le Manh Ha, deputy chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, made the remark after visiting IT companies on Tuesday, with representatives of the city Department of Information and Communication and the HCM City Computer Association. "Most enterprises in the software and IT services industry achieved a growth rate of 30 per cent or more last year," he said. Hoang Minh Chau, a member of FPT Corporation's founding committee and FPT Myanmar chairman, said revenue at his company reached VND28.64 trillion (US$1.35 billion) last year, an increase of 13 per cent over 2012. Profits during the period went up by 5 per cent to VND2.5 trillion ($118 million), he said. Nguyen Ha Thanh, deputy general director of One Communication Technology Corporation, said his company achieved revenue of VND269 billion ($12.7 million) last year, an increase of VND15 billion over previous year. Nguyen Hai Long, deputy director of Quang Trung Software City, said IT companies in QTSC reported very good business results last year, with many firms having high recruitment demand. La Manh Cuong, managing director of Luxoft Viet Nam located in Quang Trung Software City, for instance, said his revenue last year was worth $1.16 million compared to $657,000 in 2012. Businesses have also reported higher business targets this year. Luxoft Viet Nam has set a target to achieve $2 million in revenue this year. Cuong said the company plans to penetrate the banking and financial services industry. Nguyen Thanh Lam, CEO of FPT Software, the country's largest software company, said the company's software exports were expected to increase by at least 30 per cent this year. Japan, its major market, had high import demand for software products, Lam said, adding that many Japanese firms had shifted their import orders from China to Viet Nam, offering a great opportunity for Vietnamese software exporters, not only for FPT Software. "Exports to the US and EU are also expected to remain good this year," he added. FPT Software has 5,000 engineers, and is planning to recruit 2,000 more this year, he said. To meet market demand, businesses have also increased human resources training. Chu Tien Dung, chairman of the HCM City Computer Association, said the prestige and position of Vietnamese software companies were improving in the world market. Regarding the domestic market, Dung said: "Chances are abundant, but challenges are great too." The country had not mapped out a comprehensive plan for IT products and services, he explained. As a result, users or enterprises used products of different standards, making it hard for software companies to deploy their services. That was the reason why many enterprises were very successful in the world market, but have not had much success in the domestic market, he added. He as well as Chau of FPT Corp. said the country should set up uniform standards for IT infrastructure. During the meeting with the city leader, enterprises also expressed their concerns about difficulties involving the import of IT equipment and lack of support to increase the use of cloud-based applications at enterprises and others.  VNS