Photo: Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue makes a remark at the conference. (Photo: VNA)

By 2030, there will be 2,000 of them, Hue told a conference co-held by the northern province of Hai Duong and Samsung Group of the Republic of Korea on February 4 to launch a consultation programme designated for local enterprises in supporting industries.

Hai Duong is the first locality in the country to implement this programme – a joint effort of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Hai Duong People’s Committee and Samsung. 

Hue said Vietnam also aims to raise supporting industries’ share in the entire industrial sector’s production value to 14 percent by 2030.

He stressed that supporting industries are the main factor in raising the value of the process-manufacturing industry, the driver of Vietnam’s economic growth in recent years. However, it is still difficult for local enterprises in these industries to join in the global supply chain due to their small scale, low technology and a lack of linkage among them as well as between them and foreign-invested enterprises.

To facilitate the development of supporting industries, the Deputy PM required the Ministry of Planning and Investment to continue improving the investment and business environment, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to review and devise development orientations for several key supporting industries.

He tasked the Ministry of Finance to allocate adequate funding for the implementation of the programme and advise the government on establishing an open fund to attract both domestic and foreign investment in supporting industries. The Ministry of Science and Technology was assigned to help the firm gain access to new technologies, he said.

He also asked the State Bank of Vietnam to design more preferential credit packages for supporting industries, and instructed Hai Duong authorities to quickly adopt a master plan for developing supporting industries to 2025.

The Deputy PM asked the Samsung group to continue coordinating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and local authorities to provide consultations for Vietnamese enterprises, and help them get engaged in global supply chains and increase local content.

Photo: A view of the conference. (Photo: VNA)

He pledged that the Vietnamese government will create all possible conditions for Samsung to early start its project on building a Research & Development Centre in Vietnam.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said his ministry and Samsung have organized many training courses for consultants who work to help supporting enterprises enhance their capacity.

He said this year, the ministry will work with a number of localities to build policies and implement measures to develop supporting industries in those localities, adding that local administrations should invest in human resources for the industrial sector in general and supporting industries in particular.

Secretary of Hai Duong province’s Party Committee Nguyen Manh Hien said the province is focusing on developing local supporting industries into a key link of global supply chains of multinational groups.

He reported that Hai Duong is home to 454 foreign-invested companies with total registered capital of 8.4 billion USD.

According to the official, as the province is located in Vietnam’s Northern Key Economic Zone, it has many advantages regarding infrastructure and human resources in industrial development. It now registers 15,000 domestic firms with total capital of 164 trillion VND (over 7 billion USD).

Hai Duong aims to have a total of 18 industrial parks, of which 10 has been put into operation with the occupation rate at more than 80 percent. The province also plans to have additional 45 industrial clusters.

Now most of local supporting firms are working in manufacturing, electrics and electronics, and textile-garment.

Photo: Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh speaks at the conference. (Photo: VNA)

Director General of Samsung Vietnam Choi Joo Hoo pledged to enhance collaboration with the Vietnamese government to expand training activities and share experience with Hai Duong in order to help the province’s supporting firms achieve global production standards.

He said Samsung will coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to train 200 experts in moulding as from this year.

At the conference, the Hai Duong People’s Committee, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Samsung Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation on a consultation programme targeting Hai Duong-based enterprises operating in supporting industries. 

Under the deal, Samsung will select at least 15 enterprises to benefit from a three-month training programme on enhancing competitiveness./.