Samsung imported many components from China and South Korea, Hieu added. — Photo Hoang Quyen

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — To join the product supply chain for the US$1.4 billion Samsung complex in HCM City's Hi-tech Park is not easy for Vietnamese enterprises, a meeting between the city's department of industry and trade and potential suppliers was told on Monday.

Nguyen Duong Hieu, chairman of the management board and general director of Lidovit Trading and Industrial JS Company, said that to become a supplier for Samsung required co-ordination from domestic enterprises, Samsung and the city authority.

Samsung imported many components from China and South Korea, Hieu added.

Nguyen Duc Hong, deputy director of the Thong Nhat rubber company, said that foreign producers often provided a set of components, while Vietnamese enterprises usually only provided one.

Single components often take several months to be checked therefore it was hard for enterprises to join supply chain, said Hong.

Hong also said that his company was not provided with enough information to satisfy the group's requirements, therefore they did not know what to do.

Thanh Chuong, general director assistant with Lilama 45.1 Joint Stock Co, said that Korean enterprises preferred partners from their own country.

When he heard Sam sung would start work on its complex at the HCM City Hi-tech Park, his company contactedit to seek opportunities in building machine sheds, however, a Samsung representative told them that the work had been given to POSCO, a Korean company.

Chairman of the HCM City Rubber and Plastic Manufacturers Association, Nguyen Quoc Anh, said that Samsung already had satellite companies or used a global supply chain before investing in Viet Nam.

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He said when he worked at the Southern Rubber Industry JSC (Casumia), Samsung asked him about the supply of rubber com-ponents, but when they sent the price lists, Samsung did not say if the price was reasonable or not, so they did not know if they should adjust the price, online newspaper vnexpress quotes the chairman as saying.

Nguyen Phuong Dong, deputy director of the department of industry and trade, told enterprises that not only Samsung, but many large corporations did not meet suppliers immediately.

He said Samsung had asked the department to help collect opinions at the meeting with potential suppliers instead of attending it, said the director.

The department would make a list of supply enterprises then pass it to Samsung, said Dong.

He also said it was often hard at first working with multi-national enterprises, but if enterprises could overcome difficulties, they would not only be able to provide products for Samsung, but also other multi-national companies. — VNS