HCM City industry shows stability

HCM City industry shows stability

The chemical, plastic and rubber industry grew significantly in  二0 一 七, with a year-on-year increase of  三. 四 per cent. — Photo congnghiepcongnghecao.com.vn

HCM CITY — HCM City’s industrial production was forecast to maintain steady growth in  二0 一 八 with the industrial production index (IIP) to rise about  八-  八. 五 per cent against last year, according to HCM City’s Department of Industry and Trade (DoIT).

Nguyễn Phương Đông, deputy director of the department, said that the manufacturing and processing sector was estimated to increase by  八. 二 per cent in  二0 一 八 while the electronic industry will also continue to grow well.

DoIT expects the mechanical engineering sector to develop remarkably in future. For example, the market-orientation of Mercedes-Benz is focusing on manufacturing in Việt Nam to distribute to the ASEAN market. The market entry of Deahan Motor, Vĩnh Phát and SAMCO will also help contribute to the development of the city’s automobile industry.

However, enterprises are facing many difficulties and challenges, especially competitive pressure involved in deepening integration.

Lý Kim Chi, chairwoman of the HCM City Food and Foodstuff Association, said most enterprises in the association were small and medium-sized and faced many difficulties in capital, product output, production technology. These companies would find it difficult to compete with businesses in the ASEAN region, as they enjoy many incentives related to taxes, interest rates and other tools.

To accelerate the restructure of the industry, the city’s DoIT representative said that in  二0 一 八, the city would deploy more solutions to support businesses to develop production, especially supporting industry enterprises.

Lê Nguyễn Duy Oanh, deputy director of HCM City Centre of Supporting Industries Development, said this year, the centre would focus on supporting manufacturing enterprises to improve their supply capacity, expand production, approach domestic and foreign partners, step by step joining in the global supply chain. 

Last year, the city’s IIP increased by  七. 九 per cent compared to  二0 一 六. Of this, the manufacturing and processing sector increased by more than  八 per cent, four major industries increased by  一 三. 九 per cent, higher than the average rate of the industry sector and exceeding the target of  二0 一 七.

Đông said industrial production was showing stability in both the short and long term. Specifically, the IIP gradually rose in  二0 一 七 (up  六.0 二 per cent in the first three months,  七. 五 一 per cent at half year,  七. 八 四 per cent at three quarters and  七. 九 per cent for the whole year).

In addition, he said, IIP had tended to increase gradually over the past five years ( 六. 五 八 per cent in  二0 一 三,  六. 九 九 per cent in  二0 一 四,  七. 二 四 per cent in  二0 一 五,  七. 二 五 per cent in  二0 一 六 and  七. 九 per cent in  二0 一 七).

Last year, the four key industries in the city achieved impressive growth. Notably, the electronic and information technology sector had remarkable growth. The IIP increased  三 九. 一 一 per cent compared to  二0 一 六 although there was only  二 六0 enterprises operating in the city.

From August  二0 一 七 until now, the sector increased more than  三0 per cent due to the application of high level technology, science and technology at projects by the world’s leading economies (such as Samsung) in the field of semi-conductor technology, micro-chip technology and electronic boards.

New tech park eyes five sectors

HCM City will call for investment in five sectors at the city’s second science and technology park, which is scheduled to open in  二0 一 九.

The sectors are information technology, renewable energy, biotechnology, semiconductor circuits and applied space technology.

The city will offer low-interest and long-term loans for enterprises investing in the sectors.

Lê Hoài Quốc, head of Sài Gòn Hi-Tech Park Management Board, said the aim is to attract big foreign companies to the park. Local enterprises will also have more opportunities for investment in the hi-tech park.

However, local companies face more difficulty accessing capital and have less capital than foreign firms.

A representative of one enterprise said that land rent, which was much higher than surrounding provinces, was the biggest barrier for local enterprises.

Local enterprises also lack high-quality human resources because most of them are working for foreign-invested enterprises.

The  二00ha second science and technology park will be built in District  九 near the Sài Gòn Hi-Tech Park.

Quang Trung Software City (QTSC) in District  一 二 was the first science park to be set in the city and is the biggest in the country covering an area of  四 三0,000sq.m.

Established in  二00 一, it houses around  一 四0 information and co妹妹unication technology companies, with foreign firms accounting for nearly half, with a total of more than  二0,000 workers and researchers.

It targets becoming one of Asia’s top  一0 software parks in human resources and value-added services by  二0 二0. — VNS