The ninth Vietnam Support Industry Forum will be held in Hanoi on May 8 to boost the development of the industry providing spare parts for the manufacturing sector.

The forum, co-organised by the Reed Tradex company and the Hanoi Trade Promotion Centre, is expected to help businesses in this field seek partners and expand their operations through connection opportunities with manufacturers.

Reed Tradex Deputy Executive Director Duangdej Yuaikwamdee said that to achieve sustainable development and attract more foreign investment, Vietnam should focus on restructuring its industrial sector and developing support industries to ensure the industrial value chain.

The increasing number of foreign-invested projects in Vietnam will open up moreopportunities for the producers in support industries, thus raising the demand for technology and modern production, he added.

In Vietnam, the support industry serving the automobile sector has gained great success. The presence of giant manufacturers like Honda has attracted many parts suppliers to Vietnam.

From now to 2020, the country plans to develop the support industry to serve five sectors of automobile, electronics, information technology, footwear and garments.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that exports of equipment and accessories amounted to 1.53 billion USD in the first quarter of 2014, a year-on-year rise of 9.7 percent.-VNA