Promoting support and engineering industries

Technology transfer strategy needed

As reported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, there are 1,383 support industry enterprises nationwide. The local content rate in such key areas as automobiles has reached only 20-30 percent, while that in footwear and textile sectors is 10 percent. The added value of product and competitiveness of enterprises in the field remains low. The engineering industry has about 3,100 companies with 53,000 manufacturing establishments. In general, domestic enterprises suffered capital insufficiency, backward technology and equipment, scattered production, and failed to meet the increasing demand for high-tech products. State documented policies for businesses exist, but investment in the engineering industry remains scattered and unsystematic.

Nguyen Dinh Hau, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Institute for Economic and Technical Sectors under the Ministry of Science and Technology said that 838 technology transfer contracts were registered or approved from 2006-2015. Technology renovation in domestic enterprises reached an average growth of only 10 percent/year. Technology and equipment exchanges signed 6,768 memoranda of understanding (MoU) and technology sales/purchase contracts.

Through foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, many new, advanced technologies were introduced into different sectors, including oil and gas, electronics, automobiles, motorbikes, and others. However, according to Nguyen Dinh Hau, many problems still exist, deterring support and engineering industries from development, ones of which are found in limited, inadequate policies for attraction of foreign advanced technologies, lack of state specific policies and strong solutions; problematic financial support policies for scientific research and technology transfer, and the limited efficiency of scientific research result transfer to businesses.

Stimulating support industries

According to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province Department of Science and Technology Director Mai Thanh Quang, in the near future, the government should have a plan to evaluate technology level of key production industries to set up technology databases, aimed at lending businesses a hand in finding a technology market.

Apart from this, it is necessary to develop science and technology-based industries with high quality and added value. The state should also support businesses in skill training, and build specific mechanisms to attract investors.

Can Tho Province Mechanical and Foundry and Metallurgy Association Chairman Tang Hong proposed that the government make it possible for engineering enterprises to approach capital from funds (including science and technology funds), as well provide long-term preferences for the foundry and metallurgy sector. Doing so will help support and engineering industry development, he said.

Ministries and sectors should ask localities to allocate capital to scientific and technological activities in accordance with law, while the government should soon build a national strategy on the engineering industry until 2020, with a vision to 2030, to pave the way for support and engineering industry development.

Lan Anh