A worker checks glass products at the Thach That Industrial Park in Ha Noi. Vietnamese companies are aware of the benefits of investing in technology but hindered from doing so by financial difficulties. Investments in technology are beyond the capacity of most small and medium enterprises. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Experts urged the Government to craft policies that encourage technology transfer among companies in order to enhance the added value of their products.

A report of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs and University of Copenhagen revealed that Vietnamese companies were aware of the benefits of investing in technology but were hindered from doing so by financial difficulties.

The report, released last Monday, found that 90 per cent of surveyed Vietnamese companies did not have a strategy for technological renovation.

An economic expert said investments in technology were beyond the reach of most small and medium enterprises which lacked the required capital and could only set aside a modest amount for the purpose.

The report also cited the difficult business environment as one of the reasons that prevented companies from investing in technological renovation.

Experts also noted that technology transfer among domestic companies was limited while technology transfer from foreign-invested to domestic companies remained slow.

Researchers of the University of Copenhagen said policy-makers should think about support policies for companies' research and development efforts such as tax incentives and measures to protect intellectual property, along with policies to boost technology transfer from foreign-invested to Vietnamese companies.

Further restructuring

Another report that CIEM and the University of Copenhagen released yesterday revealed that greater efforts were required to improve the Vietnamese business environment.

The report on the characteristics of the Vietnamese business environment found that the 2008 global financial crisis continued to have a negative impact on businesses.

About 70 per cent of nearly 2,500 small and medium enterprises in 10 provinces and cities surveyed said the global crisis still had a negative impact on their business environment last year while a mere 15 per cent said they did not feel any negative impact.

Findings showed that the overall business environment had not improved from two years ago. Informal costs of enterprises were found to be higher in 2013 than in 2011 while innovation in terms of the introduction of new products or the improvement of current products was not as strong in 2013 as in 2011.

Based on these findings, experts urged the Government to focus on enhancing the innovative capacity of small and medium enterprises and crafting policies and strategies to improve the Vietnamese business environment. — VNS