Industrial firms in need of uniting to compete at home

Hanoi (VNA) – An industrial production federation should be established to help prevent Vietnamese firms from losing out in the domestic market once several free trade agreements take effect, as heard during the first 2016 industry and manufacturing forum on April 21.

At the function, former Trade Minister Luong Van Tu said local enterprises have limitations in technologies that are often outdated imports.

They are falling into a trap of obsolete machinery frequently transferred from more advanced countries, he noted, adding that the number of those obtaining middle- and long-term loans to invest in manufacturing remains low.

Dang Duc Thanh, Chairman of the Board of the Dreamhouse Investment Corporation, stated domestic firms are behind their foreign peers in terms of capital, technology, human resources and management capacity.

He concluded that the establishment of an industrial production federation is necessary for innovation and capacity enhancement.

Agreeing with Thanh, Tu said each industrial sector in Vietnam has its own federation but there is not yet a general one to connect them all.

Domestic firms need to not only unite at home and but also expand their network overseas, he stressed.

Participants said a wider network would provide stronger sources of capital and inroads into different markets.

Tran Dinh Thien, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said spearheaded and supplementary sectors need classification for more efficient distribution of resources.

The forum was co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the US-based Dow Chemical group.-VNA