The Vietnam Computer Electronics World Expo 2008 (VCW 2007) and Vietnam ICT Outlook 2008, the annual largest event of its kind in the nation, will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on July 15-19, the organizers announced Monday.

The event organizers provide information at Monday’s press conference (Photo: Tuong Thuy)

The U.S.-based International Data Group (IDG) and Hochiminh Computer Association will organize the 13th event with Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The expected number of exhibitors is 400, the organizers told a Monday press conference in HCMC. The event, to be staged at the HCMC International Exhibition and Convention Center in Tan Binh District, is expected to lure 260,000 visitors.

Many international brand names including Canon, Asus, Gigabyte, Samsung, Intel, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi, LG, Fujifilm, JVC, Acer, Olympus, Brother, and AOC will keep joining this year’s expo, according to the organizers.

An IDG forecast says Vietnam’s information technology spending this year is estimated at about US$2 billion (including hardware, software and services), up 15% on last year. The Vietnamese ICT market is believed to continue to develop sustainably due to this spending.

Between now and 2010, the number of digital products used in the nation will increase by more than 10%, and the growth rate in the audio and video products is 5-6%, according to a forecast by the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association.

The Vietnam ICT Outlook 2008 conference will take place at the New World Hotel on July 15. The keynote speeches will cover an outlook for the Vietnam position on the IT world map, overview of the Vietnamese IT policy in recent years, overview of IT human resources development, summary of software parks, and overview of Internet in the country.

Especially, the fifth annual conference of the Asia Electronics Forum will also take place in HCMC coincided with the computer world expo. The Vietnam Electronic Industries Association, a member of the forum, will organize the annual meeting for the first time in Vietnam.