Vietnamese supporting industries lag far behind Thailand
Vietnamese supporting industries lag far behind Thailand
Compared with Thailand, Vietnamese supporting industries are still in a nascent stage. The localization ratio of the Thai automotive industry is roughly 60-70% compared with 7-10% in Vietnam, stated Vu Trong Tai, general manager of Reed Tradex Vietnam.
Tai told the Saigon Times that the supporting industries in Vietnam have made impressive progress over the last few years. The country has seen more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) participating in the global supply chain, and the localization ratio has increased. Many local companies can now supply high-quality products to Samsung, Intel and other giants.
However, there is still much room for development to fill existing gaps. The number of SMEs qualified to serve the global supply chain is limited, modest in scale and lacks collaboration, resulting in low supply capability. In addition, the lack of proper investment in the latest technology hinders competitiveness in terms of quality and cost.
Meanwhile, a large number of SMEs among the three million enterprises in Thailand with a relatively large scale and using the latest technologies can provide a full range of parts for most industries, Tai said.
The Thai government has developed a clear strategy and policy to provide support and make it so transparent that enterprises can make long-term plans.
Beside this, infrastructure in Thailand has been developed to support higher speed transactions with lower logistics costs. SMEs now have easy access to business promotion opportunities and databases, according to Tai.
Speaking of changes in exhibitions for supporting industries, Tai said that the number of participants from supporting industries continues to grow every year, especially this year.
“We see that our industrialists today, in both the public and private sectors, have become more sophisticated and knowledgeable and are demanding to see more advanced technologies and to acquire a wider business network,” he said.
“And this is what we have been striving to offer at our exhibitions,” he added.
Most Vietnamese enterprises in the supporting industries recognize the importance of face-to-face business transactions, and participating in exhibitions can bring great opportunities for branding, networking, expanding businesses and learning new market trends.
As for the demand for machines among supporting industries in Vietnam, Tai said that “exhibitions are an amazing tool if you want to check the temperature of a market or monitor demand for a particular product.”
The signs of higher machinery demand within the Vietnamese industry could be seen at the Vietnam Manufacturing Expo, which Reed Tradex organized in August. The exhibition displayed the latest machinery and technologies for the manufacturing and supporting industries and attracted over 11,000 attendees, marking a 40% increase over the last edition, according to Tai.
