L. Joseph
Phone:  (202) 473-7700
Fax:  (202) 974-4384
E-mail:  ljoseph@ifc.org


Washington, D.C., June 27, 2002—The International Finance Corporation (IFC)—the private sector lending arm of the World Bank Group—has invested US$1.25 million in Global Cybersoft, Inc., (GCS), a Vietnam-based software development company.  This is IFC’s first investment in Vietnam’s information technology sector and demonstrates the World Bank Group’s commitment to develop this sector in Vietnam.

IFC’s investment—part of a $2.5 million financing alongside Dragon Capital, managers of the largest Vietnam-dedicated investment fund, Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited—will be used to support the growth and strategic development of GCS in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region.  It will help GCS increase its international sales efforts and hire additional software engineers to expand operations in the country.

GCS utilizes the high-quality, low-cost technical expertise available in Vietnam to provide software outsourcing services to producers of semiconductor factory automation software and hardware, and designs printed circuit boards for the global electronics industry.

Mohsen Khalil, the World Bank Group’s Director for Global Information and Communication Technologies (GICT), said, “Vietnam’s recent trade deal with the United States provides a platform for companies like GCS that are helping Vietnam build a software outsourcing industry.  GCS—one of the new successful companies in Vietnam’s fledgling software industry just emerging on the global stage—is an excellent example of the kind of company that Vietnam will rely on to develop its information and communications technology sector.”

John Shrimpton, a director at Dragon Capital based in Ho Chi Minh City, said, “In GCS, we see a company with global comparative advantage in its industry.  We believe that they will be in the vanguard of further developing Vietnam’s latent potential for software development excellence.”

Hunt Macnguyen, co-founder and President, Global Cybersoft, Inc., said, “IFC’s timely investment will allow GCS to quickly establish critical economies-of-scale and compete effectively in the challenging global software outsourcing business.”  Kevin Nguyen, joint co-founder and CEO, added, “Our goal is to demonstrate that Vietnam’s engineers are capable of keeping up with fast-changing technologies, adapting to innovation, and making a productive contribution to global technology.”

IFC’s mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.  Since its founding in 1956 through the close of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2001, IFC committed more than $31 billion of its own funds and arranged $20 billion in syndications for 2,636 companies in 140 developing countries.  IFC’s committed portfolio at the end of FY01 was $14.3 billion.

The World Bank Group’s Global Information and Communication Technologies Department  (www.worldbank.org/ict) promotes the transfer of communications and information technologies to the developing world. The Information Technologies Investments Group, part of GICT, is a stage-independent investor with an exclusive focus on building successful information technology businesses in the emerging markets.  Formed in mid-2000, the group brings a global perspective to information technology, a long-term approach to investments, an ability to leverage the resources of the entire World Bank Group as well as a commitment to maximize the value of its portfolio companies through sustained strategic assistance.