Vietnamese firms told to improve production technologies hinh anh 1The Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) in Ho Chi Minh City (Source:VNA)
 
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Vietnamese companies need to improve their production technologies and strengthen linkages with foreign companies to improve their competitiveness in both domestic and overseas markets, a seminar heard in Ho Chi Minh City on December 12.

Le Hoai Quoc, head of the management board of the Saigon High Tech Park, told the Vietnam-Korea production technology seminar that 97 percent of companies in the country are small and use modest technologies.

According to the HCM City Association of Mechanical – Electrical Enterprises, the computer numerical control (CNC) machine manufacturing industry in Vietnam and HCM City in particular is not developed.

Most machinery used in the local market is imported from other countries, 65 percent from developing countries and the rest from developed ones.

The association said Vietnam’s industrial sector is integrating globally and growing rapidly, and rising investment by foreign firms is driving the growth of local supporting industries.

To compete with their foreign rivals and meet the requirements of foreign customers, Vietnamese companies have to use CNC machines to process products.

Quoc suggested that Vietnamese companies should expand cooperation with foreign firms, including Korean, to enhance technology transfer and develop together.

Kim Jung Yeol of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology said Korean firms not only want to expand investment in and trade with Vietnam but also transfer technology.

They also want to set up joint ventures with Vietnamese firms, which would promote the development of Vietnam’s industrial sector and enable more Vietnamese firms to enter the global supply chain, he said.

Nguyen Phuong Dong, deputy director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, said there is a shift happening in Vietnam from outsourcing and assembly to manufacturing products with high added value.

The growth of the hi-tech industry is an important factor in attracting investment, enhancing competitiveness and increasing economic value and creating a development momentum for the city, he said.

Therefore, the city has been adopting many policies to support enterprises with improving their production capacity, he said. – VNS/VNA
VNA