The food industry will focus on development of food processing and beverages.— Photo baocongthuong

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— Four major industries are seeing a slowdown in HCM City and restructuring them has become more essential than ever, experts said.

The HCM City Institute for Development Studies said the mechanical engineering, electronics – information technology, chemicals, and food sectors are severely affected by their heavy reliance on imported raw materials, lack of support industries, and low labour productivity.

Many firms are tardy in adopting new technologies, meaning their competitiveness remains low, said Cao Minh Nghia, head of the institute's project to restructure the four industries.

With outsourcing and assembling remaining their main modes of production, their earnings are low, he said.

The project seeks to restructure the four industries to make them sustainable and improve labour productivity and growth quality.

The food industry will focus on development of food processing and beverages, and rubber-chemicals firms will produce drugs, cosmetics, and high-grade plastics.

The mechanical engineering industry will develop machine tools and electrical equipment, while the electronics and IT industry will focus on software and hardware.

The programme has set targets for the four industries — by 2015 food processing should account for 18 per cent of the city's total industrial output, chemicals for 25 per cent, mechanical engineering for 23 per cent, and electronics and IT for 7 per cent.

It calls for further development of support industries with preferential loans.

In the 2016-20 period, the city needs to zero in on key industries to focus on improving design and manufacturing capacity, it said.

Industry groups have also suggested various measures like launching programmes to stimulate sales, bank loan interest subsidy for companies, and others.

The HCM City Rubber Plastic Manufacturers Association has urged the Government to quickly put up trade barriers to protect the domestic industry.

It also sought support for improving production and management capacity and preferential policies to develop support industries for the technology sector and those making value-added products.

The Viet Nam Association of Mechanical Industry has called for Government support in training human resources and marketing. — VNS