Around 200 delegates and 64 businesses from Vietnam and Malaysia gathered at an information and communication technology (ICT) forum in Ho Chi Minh City on May 24 to seek cooperative opportunities.

The event was jointly organised by Malaysia Trade External Development Corporation (MATRADE) and Quang Trung Software Park.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Minh Hong said cooperation between Malaysia , which owns infrastructure, expertise and a broadband network, and Vietnam , with an abundant supply of manpower and a promising market, will help raise each side’s strength and competitiveness in the global market.

According to Le Thai Hy, Director of the municipal Department of Information and Communications, Vietnam ’s IT sector has maintained stable growth in past years. In HCM City alone, the sector earns nearly 2.5 billion USD a year.

Regarding the development of e-government, Zalian Mohamed Noh, Service Development Director of MSC company, a leading IT business in Malaysia , said Vietnam should assign the project to major cities and provinces before spreading it nationwide.

At the event, the Vietnam TMA software company along with its Malaysian partner Nextgrid inked a deal with online payment service provider iPay88, under which a mobile payment system will be set up across the Southeast Asia using TMA Nextgrid technology via iPay88./.