With an annual growth rate of 25 percent, the telecom-information technology industry in Viet Nam is likely to continue its strong development in the next five years.

At the ongoing Viet Nam Telecomp 2006 exhibition, taking place in Ho Chi Minh City from Sept. 13-16, foreign investors acknowledged Viet Nam"s high growth rate in this field as compared to other countries. They said it currently represented a great opportunity for investment.

Alfred Fahringer, General Director of the Communications Segment of Siemens Viet Nam, said Viet Nam is one of the countries having great potential for telecom development. Viet Nam has developed a modern telecom infrastructure whereas many other countries in the region have not yet done so.

He said he hoped that in the future the Siemens corporation could further contribute to Viet Nam"s telecom network development with advanced products and solutions.

According to a Siemens official, Viet Nam"s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will create good opportunities for Vietnamese businesses. However, he said, in order to prepare for the opportunity, they should focus on training personnel, renewing technology, increasing cooperation with foreign partners to make them more competitive.

Sharing the same view, Eddie Ahman, General Director of Ericsson Viet Nam, said that once Viet Nam joins the WTO, its telecom market will not only develop at a faster rate but also face fiercer competition. As a supplier for large Vietnamese businesses, Ericsson promised to assist them to surmount the challenge of WTO membership.

He said, in the immediate future, Ericsson would continue to develop and expand so as to take advantage of opportunities in Viet Nam, which represents an important market for Ericsson in mobile communications.

The Telecomp 2006 exhibition has attracted 180 businesses from 30 countries and territories. Half of them have come here for the first time with state of the art products and technology.

According to Stanley Chu, Chairman of Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. in Hong Kong, the exhibition has enabled foreign producers to take the opportunity to do business in Viet Nam"s booming telecom and information technology market. He predicted a new wave of investment in Viet Nam"s telecom and IT sector.

Viet Nam"s telecom sector is now the 2nd fastest developing telecom market in the ASEAN, with about 14 million subscribers to telecom services and more than 10 million internet users.

According to the market service company GFK Vietnam, Viet Nam"s telecom, IT and electronic market will have a turnover of more than 2.3 billion USD this year, and about 3 billion USD by 2007.