The software industry is a vital sector of the information technology. The software industry involves activities of producing and trading in software products and providing software services. The development of the information technology, especially the software industry, is a undertaking to which the Party and the State give priority and attention, considering it a "shortcut" and "interception" approach to materialize the national industrialization and modernization, and contribute to ensuring the national security.

Implementing the Government�s Resolution No.49/CP of August 4, 1993 on the development of the information technology in our country, over the recent years, the information technology has witnessed significant achievements, which have been initially applied in various techno-economic branches and taught in the national education system. The contingent of information technology professionals of university level has considerably grown. Specialized computer networks have been set up and yield efficiency in a number of socio-economic domains, thus contributing to serving the State management work. Yet, there still remains a lack of synchronous policies and measures to encourage the building and development of the software industry.

The development of our country�s software industry would benefit from the following fundamental advantages: the world�s information technology market is ever-growing; the software industry does not require large initial investments; Vietnamese people are capable of quickly absorbing this technology; there are in the overseas Vietnamese community many experts, who are experienced in the software industry and wish to establish cooperation and make investment in Vietnam.

However, the development of our country�s software industry is also facing numerous difficulties and challenges: the domestic information technology market is still narrow; the telecommunications infrastructure is inadequate to meet the development requirements of the information technology in general and the software industry in particular; the environment for investment in the software industry in our country is not yet favorable as compared to that in the neighboring countries; the entire society�s general awareness of protection of intellectual property rights, particularly author�s right over software products, remains low.

I. VIEWPOINT AND OBJECTIVES OF BUILDING AND DEVELOPING THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY

1. Viewpoint

The software industry is a new economic branch with high added value and great prospect. The State creates all favorable conditions to encourage organizations and individuals of all economic sectors to invest in and develop this industry.

The State encourages and gives maximum preferences to the development of the software industry. Initially, attention shall be paid to the export in forms of processing and providing services to foreign companies. At the same time, to expand the domestic market, in the immediate future, to concentrate efforts on software development in a number of fields which may soon bring about socio-economic efficiency and turn out products to substitute imported software products. To quickly organize the export of software labor and packed software so that Vietnam�s software industry step by step gains its position on the world market.

To closely combine scientific research with technological development, training and production, thus creating the premise for further development of the software industry. To particularly encourage organizations and individuals to invest in scientific research and technological development in this field.

2. Objectives

To build the software industry into a spearhead economic branch with high growth rate, thus contributing to the modernization and sustainable development of socio-economic branches, raising the State management capability and ensuring national security.

To bring into play the intellectual potentials of Vietnamese, especially the young generation, and to prepare high-quality human resources for the coming decades.

To strive to reach the output value of about 500 million USD by the year 2005.

II. CONTENTS, MEASURES FOR BUILDING AND DEVELOPING THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY

1. Training of human resources

To promote all forms of training, retraining, practice guiding and fostering in order to have by the year 2005 about 25,000 high-level experts and professional programmers, who are also fluent in English.

The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the concerned ministries and branches in working out and materializing the plan for quick development of such human resources. To enhance, expand and raise the quality of, software technology training within the national education system. To widely spread the use of Internet in the universities and step-by-step in the general education schools, with a view to well serving the training work.

To encourage organizations and individuals at home and abroad to participate in the training of human resources for the information technology in general and the software industry in particular in form of software service enterprises and other forms. Special importance should be attached to the creation of favorable conditions for students and pupils who have graduated in other specialties to be further trained and fostered in information technology so that they can take part in development of the software industry.

2. Creation of a favorable investment environment

The software industry is an industry in which the investment is particularly encouraged. The State shall give preferences at the highest level to enterprises engaged in the software industry. Home-made software products and services provided at home shall not be liable to value added tax; if they are exported, the tax rate of 0% as well as the tax reimbursement shall apply as provided for by law; the highest preferential enterprise income tax rate shall apply according to the Law on Domestic Investment Promotion (amended) and the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam. The State adopts the policy of refunding software enterprises with the maximum amount equal to enterprise income tax amount the enterprises have already paid to the State budget for re-investment and development. To apply preferential regime on personal income tax for professional laborers directly engaged in the development of the software industry. The software industry enterprises shall be entitled to the regime of highest credit preference as well as the land use preference as prescribed by law.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the concerned ministries and branches in elaborating and promulgating the Regulation on organization, management and operation of the risk investment fund for development of high technologies, particularly the software technology.

To study the establishment of gates at Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park and Quang Trung Software Industrial Park (Ho Chi Minh City), which are directly connected to the Internet system, so that software enterprises can fully and easily use high-quality Internet services at competitive prices with the regional countries.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the concerned ministries and branches, and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities in calculating and channeling domestic and foreign capital sources for annual and 5-year plans for software industry development investment projects; seek ways and means to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) capital and official development assistance (ODA) sources for software industry investment projects.

To create favorable conditions for associations operating in the field of software industry to practically contribute to the process of building and developing the software industry, and protecting the copyrights in this field.

The Committee for Overseas Vietnamese shall coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in creating all favorable conditions for overseas Vietnamese to cooperate with and support individuals and organizations at home in market promotion, as well as know-how and technology transfer. To encourage overseas Vietnamese to invest, produce and deal in software in Vietnam.

3. Improvement of effectiveness and efficiency of legal enforcement

The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Culture and Information and the concerned ministries and branches shall have to expeditiously perform the following tasks:

- Revising legal documents related to the software production, trading, service provision and author�s right, in order to make amendments and/or supplements thereto or propose the competent State agencies to amend and/or supplement them, with a view to promoting the investment in and development of the software industry.

- Enhancing the capability and effectiveness of the agencies in charge of the State management over information security and safety.

- Working out and implementing programs for training and fostering judicial personnel and legal consultants to improve their knowledge of the legislation on protection of author�s right over software products.

- Stepping up the legal propagation, dissemination and education among the entire population in order to raise their sense of law observance, respect for and protection of author�s right over software products. Enforcing the mechanism of protection of author�s right in this field.

- Studying and promulgating appropriate policies on publishing, inspection of export and import of software products.

- Publicizing statistical figures on the information technology and industry in general and the software industry in particular according to the national economic classification system.

4. Market expansion

The Ministry of Trade, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the concerned ministries and branches shall organize the trade promotion and create conditions for domestic software enterprises to open their branches and representative offices at home and abroad, make overseas investment and export software labor.

To encourage agencies, organizations and individuals of all economic sectors to invest in the application of information technology, use products and services of domestic software enterprises. To facilitate foreign software enterprises to invest and open their branches and representative offices in Vietnam.

III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Education and Training, the General Department of Post and Telecommunications and the concerned ministries and branches in taking responsibility before the Government for:

a/ Finalizing the plan for building and development of the software industry in the 2000-2005 period, then submitting it to the Prime Minister for ratification;

b/ Submitting to the Prime Minister for promulgation decisions on policies of encouraging investment in and development of the software industry;

c/ Organizing the implementation of this Resolution; and monitoring, urging, inspecting, reviewing and periodically reporting it to the Prime Minister.

In the course of implementation, if any problems arise, they shall have to promptly report to the Prime Minister for direction.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Resolution.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI