AT&T, which started a small base in Vietnam two years ago, said the country presents many opportunities for business thanks to its enterprising population. The company is capitalizing on increased business activity there by building up communications infrastructure, especially in areas where its customers have a large presence.

Choo Hock Lye, vice president of AT&T’s ASEAN Sales Centre, said one of the reasons for the strong growth was that people use his company’s services for day-to-day operations.

“It's a very essential piece of their organization. Unless they close down the office, they still have to maintain and use the services for their own infrastructure requirements,” he said.

The US firm’s sales in the ASEAN market grew 18 percent last year and 16 percent in 2008.  This year, AT&T has set aside US$1 billion to deliver more applications, services and support to customers worldwide.