VietNamNet Bridge – The HCMC Computer Association (HCA) on Monday granted awards to more than 30 local information and communication technology (ICT) companies in recognition of their contributions to the development of the sector for 2007.

Chu Tien Dung, chairman of the association, said at the award ceremony in HCMC that the awards would enable winning firms to earn trust and confidence among consumers and push up their positions on the local market.

"The awards are meant to prove customer approval of the quality of a company' + char(39)+ N's products and services, and to measure a company' + char(39)+ N's market growth and size," he added.

Most of the top ICT companies have posted annual growth of over 50%, the organizers said.

The association presented the Vietnam ICT Medals to 19 companies involved in hardware manufacturing and assembly, Internet services, ICT training, and software production and export.

The association also granted the Top Five Vietnam ICT Cup 2008 to other 12 companies who obtained the biggest turnover and strong growth in the sector.

The organizers also honored ICT resellers with the biggest sales revenue.

Pham Thien Nghe, general secretary of HCA, said at the award ceremony that it was the first time the association had presented awards to the ICT retailers and that this was intended to spur a competition among local resellers.

"Through the awards, the local ICT resellers are also encouraged to boost their competitiveness in preparation for the country' + char(39)+ N's opening in 2009 of the local market to foreign retailers," Nghe added.

The top five ICT reseller awards went to Phong Vu, Hoang Long, Anh Phuong, Nova and Thanh Nhan companies, whose combined revenue is put at VND14 trillion, half the sector' + char(39)+ N's total.

FPT Group, CMC Corporation, Samsung Vina Electronics, DigiWorld and IDC Group won the Top Five Vietnam ICT Cups. These enterprises made up more than 60% of the industry' + char(39)+ N's revenue of VND18 trillion.

CMC made a breakthrough as it was only second to Samsung Vina, an improvement of two notches.

The Vietnam Data Communication Company continued to be the top Internet service provider with revenue amounting to VND820 billion last year.

The top hardware producer was Samsung Vina who held over 23% of the domestic market.

The presentation of the awards is part of Vietnam ICT Outlook, which started yesterday and is organized by International Data Group in Vietnam (IDG Vietnam), the HCMC Computer Association and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

The organizers said there would be over 200 exhibitors at the six-day ICT Outlook and that the number of visitors was forecast at around 5,000.

The U.S.-based International Data Corporation has forecast Vietnam' + char(39)+ N's consumption of ICT products will reach up to US$2 billion this year, including software, hardware and telecom services, up 15% from 2007.

The market researcher believes that Vietnam' + char(39)+ N's ICT will grow rapidly because the country is continuing to spend strongly on information and communication technology infrastructure.