He made the statement at a yesterday meeting themed “New awareness, fast change and breakthrough creativeness” organized by the municipal People’s Committee with enterprises in the field of IT and artificial intelligence. The prize-giving ceremony of the 11th Information Technology and Communications Awards was also held in the meeting.
At the meeting, Mr. Nhan asked the People’s Committee to soon implement the project to train more high quality personnel in IT-Communications field.
The city Party Chief emphasized the significant contribution of IT to all sectors’ growth attaching with the city’s economic development and formation of the innovation district in the Eastern part of the city which will pilot new technologies in 200 hectares.
Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the city People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong affirmed for years, Ho Chi Minh City has been serving as the country's economic focal point.
The city posts 24 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and 16 percent of the country’s total export revenue as well as collects 28 percent of the country’s total state budget; however, he admitted that the city is still facing challenges and difficulties and its economic growth is not sustainable.
Accordingly, the city must focus on economic re-structuring with base on creativeness and knowledge, advanced technologies and high productivity to maintain its leading role.
Exponential increase of technologies in the Fourth Revolution 4.0 with non-stop renovations in digitalization, AI, Internet of Things is the exact time the city starts to build smart city to fully exploit the city’s potential and strength.
Technologies and renovations digitalization, AI, Internet of Things are foundations for the city’s implementation of seven breakthrough programs with the orientation of its future growth.
Taking figures as examples to prove that the city has being creating favorable condition for startup businesses, Chairman Phong affirmed that city authorities will continue facilitating establishment and operation of startup firms.
Moreover, he analyzed the startup businesses in the field of IT have great potential for grow strongly showing his expectation that more and more startup firms will be shining in the future.
Mr. Phong said that the meeting is a chance for city authorities and IT- AI enterprises to discuss and remove barriers in order to push up the city’s sustainable development.
Regarding the prize in the IT filed, Chairman Phong said that the prize is a public recognition on good services, products and collective and individual contributions to the city’s development of IT. Furthermore, the prize also inspires students and startup firms.
Meantime, Party Chief Nhan congratulated prize winners. He said HCMC is a pioneer in developing IT as 20 years ago, the city has proposed the central government to re-consider IT as key factor in making breakthrough; as a result, the city founded the Quang Trung Software City (QTSC).
It has been growing quickly to become the biggest software park in Vietnam. With the total area of 430,000 sqm, QTSC has many functions such as software production, exhibition center, accommodation, entertainment with 165 enterprises, 27 investors, more than 11,000 engineers and IT employees.
It is estimated that the software park has posted US$511 million revenue including $400 million from exports as of the end of 2019. The software park is the cradle of innovative ideas attracting talents from all corners of the country to gather for the city’s growth.
In addition to Quang Trung Software Park, the Vietnam National University in HCMC also built a software park in its premises and a land lot in Truong Dinh Street is for building startup center to support startup companies.
Statistically, 70 percent of startup firms are working in the IT field, as said Mr. Nhan. He added startup enterprises’ decision to choose HCMC to develop their IT company is a right decision.
Approximately 100,000 laborers making up 2.2 percent of the city’s total laborers are working in 5,600 IT companies, accounting for 1. 4 percent of the city’s total enterprises.
Noticeably, workforce productivity in the field of IT has doubled the city’s whole labor productivity. Plus, IT contributes 4.44 percent to the whole city’s Gross Regional Domestic Product.
Therefore, development of IT firms is meaningful to the city’s growth, as Mr. Nhan said. He ordered the People’s Committee to adopt solutions to increase the number of IT firms in the future. It is possibly that more employees in IT companies will contribute nearly 10 percent to the city’s Gross Regional Domestic Product.
At the meeting, participants shared measures to help develop more IT enterprises in the upcoming time.
Mr. Nhan concluded that in the coming time, the city will set up a special council working on developing economic sectors which the Netherland has been successfully applying. Additionally, the city will pilot bidding in groups including giant and medium and small companies so that big companies will lead smaller ones. This model has been adopted in Singapore.
