Workers manufacture auto parts at the Keihin Vietnam Company. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

The Ministry of Industry and Trade sees supporting the manufacturing and processing industry as the key to boosting socio-economic development this year.

According to Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong, the ministry will continue to accelerate the restructuring of the economy to promote the industry and reduce the assembly of industrial products manufactured in Viet Nam.

“We will complete mechanisms and policies to support domestic production, develop supporting industries and increase localisation rates,” Vuong said.

This goal for the manufacturing and processing industry is part of the ministry’s development plan, through which it will create national brand products to compete in regional and the world markets.

The ministry will review the policies affecting every industry and product in order to gradually remove difficulties for enterprises, increase competitiveness and build technical barriers for imported products in order to support domestic products.

"In the coming time, we will co-ordinate with relevant units to study preferential credit packages for priority industries to enhance competitiveness and raise added value for industrial products,” said Vuong. “At the same time, we will also promote international co-operation to improve capacity of Vietnamese enterprises and connect to global production chains.”

The ministry expects the development of industrial production will have advantages this year. The business environment will be improved to better support domestic enterprises to invest in production and develop the private sector.

In addition, the many free trade agreements that come into effect this year are attracting new foreign direct investment, helping Viet Nam raise its production capacity.

However, industrial production will continue facing challenges in 2019 because there are still few new large-scale projects that contribute to the growth of the industry.

In addition, processing and assembling for Vietnamese industrial products is still prominent and the development of supporting industries is slow. Enterprises have not taken advantage of Industry 4.0 to improve productivity.

The ministry expects the Industrial Production Index (IIP) to increase by 9-10 per cent compared to 2018. Specifically, the manufacturing and processing industry will be up 13 per cent and electricity distribution and production up 9.5-10 per cent.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the nation’s IIP in 2018 experienced an encouraging increase of 10.2 per cent. The growth was fuelled by the processing and manufacturing industry, which rose by 12.3 per cent year-on-year. — VNS