Japan-based NEC electronic firm has signed a contract with Hanoi authorities to help the Vietnamese capital city build an information system with total value of JPY260 million ($3 million). The project will help Hanoi manage database on tax and other information of its citizen, the Vietnam News Agency said on its website July 22, noting that this is the first contract that NEC has inked with a city in Southeast Asia. NEC expects to clinch another contract worth JPY20 billion with Vietnam for a planned project that will include the management of data about Vietnamese citizens during the next five years. It plans to build a dedicated center if data amount is large enough to use cloud computing technology. Currently, Vietnamese cities and provinces mostly manage their population data by hard documents, which Japan’s Nikkei said will be difficult to find quick information on tax and social welfare because of increasing population. Since 2005, Vietnam has decided to build a modern information system to digitalize the database on its people. Other Japanese electronics firms like Hitachi and Fujitsu are also seeking contracts to build information systems overseas.
