Businesses in supporting industries need to further improve their functioning and establish close ties with each other and official agencies to enter multinational supply chains, delegates told a forum in HCM City on Thursday.

Dinh Thi Bao Linh, deputy director of the Viet Nam Industry and Trade Information Centre, said supporting industry, which refers to making accessories, components and others used in manufacturing, has received special attention from the Government since it is the foundation for development of many other industries.

Yet the rate of locally sourced parts remains modest, she said.

Do Thi Thuy Huong, a member of the executive board of the Viet Nam Electronic Industries Association (VEIA), said the electronics industry has developed strongly in recent years with exports rising every year.

The development of the sector is mainly thanks to the large investments made by multinational companies, especially from Korea and Japan, in the production of both final products and components, she said.

Local firms have a small market share, she said.

Le Nguyen Duy Oanh, deputy director of the HCM City Centre for Supporting Industries Development, spoke about the city’s efforts to back supporting industries, including programmes to connect local suppliers with foreign-owned and local manufacturers and foreign partners.

“Samsung hopes to have 50 Vietnamese suppliers by 2020, so local firms should link up and standardise their production process to participate as the Korean company’s vendors,” she said.

Nguyen Duc Minh, director of Viettronics Phu Tho Hoa, spoke about his company’s experience in seeking businesses partners as well as its process of becoming a Samsung supplier.

Suttisak Wilanan of Thailand-based Reed Tradex Company, one of the forum’s organisers, said: “The global industry is changing to a new era of manufacturing capabilities, the direction of markets will not be the same since the digital technologies are taking over the way we produce and consume a variety of goods.”

The rising demand for integrated and advanced technologies is driving supporting industries to overhaul their manufacturing processes to catch up with the global supply chain, he said.

“We see huge potential in Viet Nam, where a number of major manufacturing bases are located and where skilled engineers, technicians and workers have gathered.

“What’s more, Vietnamese are precise and highly skilled, and, most importantly, perseverance is deep-rooted in their work philosophy. That is the reason I believe Viet Nam will become one of Asian’s manufacturing hubs in years to come.”

The forum was held as part of pre-activities for NEPCON Vietnam, an exhibition on SMT, testing technologies, equipment, and supporting industries for electronics manufacturing to be organised next October.

Held by Reed Tradex and VEIA, the forum was titled “Development of supporting industries – the foundation for the sustainable growth of Viet Nam’s electricity and electronics industry.” — VNS