Viet must develop its support industry if it wants to attract more Japanese investment into the manufacturing sector, a recent Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) survey shows.

JETRO’s chief representative in Ha Noi Hironobu Kitagawa on Thursday outlined low procurement of raw materials and parts as one of the biggest issue that Japanese companies investing in Viet Nam have encountered.

A survey from JETRO shows that Japanese firms operating in Viet Nam purchased 34.2 per cent of spare parts in the host nation last year, much lower than those in China and Thailand with 67.8 per cent and 57.1 per cent, respectively.

The low local procurement rate forced Japanese enterprises in Viet Nam to import components from other countries such as Thailand and China, which led to increased costs and big risks for firms, Kitagawa said.

In the current context, finding suitable local suppliers of raw material and components would help Japanese firms enhance their competitiveness, he said.

According to Kitagawa, Vietnamese part suppliers should pay attention to enhancing the added value of their products. Then, Vietnamese firms could co-operate with Japanese firms in the global part supply chain.

Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Trade Promotion Agency Bui Huy Son said the Vietnamese Government was proactively assisting firms operating in the support industry in applying modern quality management systems, improving the quality and reliability of products, thus enabling them to join global production and supply chains.

In a move to facilitate the development of Viet Nam’s support industry, Thailand’s Reed Tradex Co, JETRO and the Trade Promotion Agency inked an agreement in organising three exhibitions on Thursday in the capital.

The events -- NEPCON Viet Nam, Industrial Components and Subcontracting Viet Nam and the Viet Nam-Japan Supporting Industries Exhibition--will be held at a single venue in Ha Noi in September.

Co-organised by JETRO and the Trade Promotion Agency, the 7th Viet Nam-Japan Supporting Industries Exhibition will link Japanese manufacturers with Vietnamese part-makers to tighten business opportunities and relationships, organisers said at a press conference on Thursday.

At this year’s exhibition, JETRO will first run a pre-matching system built to improve trade links among businesses that have exhibited before, said Kitagawa.

“Through the system, corporate exhibitors may contact and make appointments with partners, while sellers or buyers can exchange information before the appointment, thereby raising the efficiency of the talks,” he said.

Two other exhibitions will be hosted by Thailand’s Reed Tradex Co.  

NEPCON Viet Nam 2017 aims to boost the local electronics industry through machinery and equipment from the world’s 200 leading brands, the company’s deputy managing director Suttisak Wilanan said.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Components and Subcontracting Viet Nam 2017 will be an effective platform for industrialists to meet buyers of parts and components as well as future subcontractors, he said.

These "trio" exhibitions will take place at Ha Noi International Center For Exhibition from September 13-15. — VNS