Dong Nai province's supporting industries have made major progress over the past year. (Photo: congluan.vn) Nguyen Hoang Quyen, head of the province's industrial managementsub-department, said Dong Nai is home to more than 600 supporting industrycompanies, primarily in the garment and textile, footwear, electronics, andmechanical engineering sectors, that provide jobs to more than 158,000 people.
Supporting industry products accounted for more than half of theprovince’s total industrial product exports, she said.
According to experts, foreign companies in Vietnam areincreasingly looking to source components and parts locally to reduce costs andminimise risks caused by supply chain disruptions.
They also seek to increase the use of local parts to enjoy tariffpreferences provided under free trade agreements the country has signed.
The province has become one of the country’s major supportingindustry hubs, meaning its products are inputs for other enterprises, accordingto its People's Committee.
Nguyen Thi Hoang, Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai Provincial People'sCommittee, said: "This year the province has strengthened trade promotionto connect foreign and local enterprises so that they can supply products toeach other. Many enterprises have found domestic sources of supply, reducingimports.”
But of the total number of supporting industry enterprises, morethan 80% are foreign, according the Department of Industry and Trade.
Local firms are still struggling because of limitations withrespect to funding, technology, human resources, and skills, it said.
Besides, Vietnamese participation in the value chain of foreignenterprises’ manufacturing industries remains modest, it said.
Speaking at a working session between the Vietnam Industry Agencyunder the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the department recently, Pham TuanAnh, the former’s deputy director, said it is implementing a national programmeto develop supporting industries.
So far, businesses benefiting from it have made excellentprogress, he said.
Tuong Lai Company Limited in Long Thanh district, for instance,has joined the programme and become a supplier for a global value chain, hesaid.
His agency is working with the department to appraise another firmto enable it to join the programme, he said.
He suggested the province develop clear and focused policies tobetter mobilise resources for the development of the industry.
In future, his agency, the department and other relatedauthorities would regularly exchange information and co-ordinate to roll outsupport policies to promote the development of supporting industries, he said.
A representative of a local supporting industry company said ifthere are good support policies, the Vietnamese supporting industry would notbe any inferior to their foreign counterparts.
Foreign enterprises have demand for supporting industry products,but local firms find it hard to reach them and also have to compete withforeign supporting industry enterprises, he said.
Local firms need support from government agencies to meet,communicate and co-operate with major foreign manufacturing firms, he added.
The southern province has adopted policies to develop supportingindustries, which are considered the backbone of the manufacturing sector andan important factor in attracting foreign manufacturing firms.
Dong Nai’s goals for supporting industries development include21-23% of its total industrial production coming from them by 2025.
It also plans to complete the database of enterprises in theindustry to help link them up with those making finished products.
It plans to develop more supporting industry zones andclusters along with incentive policies, especially policies on finance, tax,and technical and management support./.
VNA
