Focus on Supporting Industry Development

Hai Phong has achieved a lot of successes and experiences in supporting industry development. For instance, Hai Phong Paint Joint Stock Company has gained success with its ship paints, rig paints, industrial coatings and traffic paints while other companies like Tan Long Casting Factory and My Dong Village are successful in manufacturing steel structures, welding materials (welding electrodes, welding wires), furniture, fireproof doors, boilers, hatch covers, deck equipment, pipe fittings, anchor chains, anchors, propellers, hydraulic motors, polyester fibres, engine parts and metal equipment.

 

In high-tech support industry development, Hai Phong is famous for oily water separators and fireproofing materials (made by Binh An Company); polyester fibres for the garment industry; and ships (made by Song Cam Shipyard). Industrial zones in Hai Phong are now focusing on attracting supporting industry projects taking part in global production chains such as electrical wires for automobile production, protective airbags, rubber parts, parts, audio systems for automobiles, precision engineering, bearings, drive shafts, coloured plastic resins, and speakers for mobile phones. Nomura Industrial Park is currently taking the lead in the development of supporting industries. In the near future, if blueprint high-tech supporting industry park advocated by the municipal government is not taken into account, the leading position of urban, industrial and service zones will surely belong to VSIP Hai Phong, together with Dinh Vu Industrial Park and Saigon - Hai Phong Industrial Park (Trang Due).

 

Presently, Japanese investors are speeding up large-scaled projects in the city, including Bridgestone rubber tyre factory (US$574.8 million), Kyocera Mita Vietnam office equipment production factory (US$187.5 million), and Component B of Lach Huyen International Port. This signals a new rising wage of Japanese investment flows into Hai Phong. Many Japanese business, economic, commercial and governmental delegations have come to Hai Phong to survey and explore opportunities of investment cooperation, including many big general corporations, port operators, infrastructure developers, urban planners and developers, tourist firms, precision mechanical parts manufacturers and industrial subcontractors. Japan is currently the biggest foreign investor in Hai Phong City by projects and capital (US$3.145 billion). According to economists, the new wave of Japanese investment is entirely consistent with the demand of Hai Phong City for economic development and restructuring.

 

However, supporting industries of Hai Phong remain weak and small. The city can now only make simple, low-valued parts while high-valued primary parts and equipment are imported. Duong Ngoc Tuan, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said, the development of supporting industries in Hai Phong is facing hardships due to limited access to modern manufacturing technologies, qualified human resources, financial resources, production premises while State support mechanisms and policies are not attractive enough. Consumer markets and environmental protection pressures are also obstacle to technologies of supporting industries.

 

Through meetings and discussions with the city, Japanese visitors expect Vietnam to streamline administrative procedures and launch some Japanese-speaking services in existing industrial parks. In addition, to create an environment attractive to Japanese partners, Hai Phong is preparing production grounds and accelerating the construction and upgrading of infrastructure systems (Hanoi - Hai Phong Express Motorway, Cat Bi Airport, Hai Phong International Port in Lach Huyen, Tan Vu - Cat Hai Motorway, Dinh Vu - Cat Hai Bridge), water and power supply systems. The city is also encouraging the development of Japan-standard vocational training establishments, the teaching of Japanese language, and the broadcasting of radio, television and newsreels in Japanese language.

 

On the other hand, the city proposed the Government consider some preference mechanisms and policies for infrastructure developers and operators in specialised industrial zones (high-tech support industry zones). Through different channels, the People’s Committee of Hai Phong City asked the Government and Japanese economic organisations to fund infrastructure construction, design and construction consulting and supervision.