Conference links Vietnamese, Japanese firms in supporting industries

Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, briefed the conference on Vietnam’s foreign trade activities, with export revenue in the first five months of this year estimated at US$130.94 billion, up 30.7% year-on-year.

The export value of phones and spare parts increased 19.6%; computers, electronics and components 26%; and machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts 74.8%, he continued.

Vietnamese enterprises in supporting industries are growing in terms of both number and quality, and integrating intensively into global production chains, Phu said.

They account for nearly 4.5% of enterprises operating in the processing and manufacturing sector, generate jobs for more than 600,000 workers, or nearly 8% of the workforce in the processing and manufacturing sector, and contribute 11% of total revenue in the sector. 

In his remarks, Masataka Fujita, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC), pledged that it will make greater efforts in promoting trade between Vietnam and Japan in the future.

Akutsu Michio, an expert from the Association of International Business Advisors, meanwhile, pointed out the challenges to Vietnamese supporting enterprises such as low productivity and a shortage of trained workers.

He suggested enterprises improve their production capacity and product quality and take measures to attract high-quality workers, saying that apart from providing products for Japanese enterprises in Vietnam, domestic businesses should also seek partners abroad.

To facilitate the supporting industries, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade launched a database in June 2020 that provides information on more than 3,600 domestic firms operating in mechanics, auto, electronics, and garment-textiles.