Supporting industries are playing an important role in the long-term sustainable economic growth and foreign investment attraction, said the Vietnam Economic News on September 29.

According to Dang Van Chi, Deputy General Director of N&G Investment and Development JSC, an investor in the Hanoi Southern Supporting Industrial Park (Hanssip), despite successfully attracting large corporations such as Samsung, Nokia, Toshiba, Honda, Panasonic, and Canon, Vietnam has to spend billions of dollars on importing components or raw materials for these corporations.

Many firms admit that their production depends too much on import of inputs, he said.

Supporting industries also help improving competitiveness of industrial products, promoting new technologies, and developing domestic small and medium enterprises develop, added Chi.

Hanoi has about 2,000 companies operating in supporting industries, with total sales accounting for approximately 25 percent of the city’s whole industrial sales.

According to Director of Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade Le Hong Thang, along with specific solutions for capital and infrastructure, the government and local authorities need to issue policies to further promote the development of supporting industries. For example, Hanoi has issued a number of specific policies to back local supporting industries including soft loan policy for enterprises operating in the city’s industrial parks such as Hanssip.

According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong, global economic integration requires close links between national and international companies.

“The most important issue is how to find outlets for support industrial products to promote sales. Once you have a market, you will need financial sources for sustainable business development,” Chairman of Hanoi Supporting Industries Business Association Nguyen Hoang was cited as saying.-VNA