IBM (IBM) has opened additional centers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Chengdu, China to extend its global service delivery capabilities.

The new centers, which expand IBM's global network of service delivery centers to more than 30 countries, will focus on development, operation and maintenance of application systems for clients based in Europe, Africa, the U.S. and the Asia Pacific region.

The global delivery center in the Chengdu High-Tech Zone is IBM's fourth such center in China and will support clients in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the U.S. and Europe. The center also will run as a regional operations center for the IBM Global Procurement Center, supporting IBM's globally integrated supply chain.

The global delivery center located at the National University of Ho Chi Minh City IT Park, Thu Duc District, is IBM's first such center in Vietnam. The center will offer services in the areas of electronic commerce, supply chain management, distribution and e-governance to clients in the industrial, distribution, finance and insurance, public, communication and small and medium business sectors in Belgium, France and Africa.

Erik Bush, executive vice president, of Application Services, IBM Global Delivery, said: "IBM's delivery capabilities across countries such as China and Vietnam are a key part of our strategy to operate as a globally integrated enterprise. Such a strategy allows IBM and its clients to leverage skills wherever they exist in the world. Where there is a concentration of the right skills in a given country, IBM develops people and resources and brings in global best practices to enable us to meet the needs of not just our domestic business in that country, but also our global business."