The event, co-hosted by the Vietnam Rubber Association, the Ho Chi Minh city Plastic Rubber Association with Showa Rubber Vietnam Company under Japan’s Showa Holdings Group, attracted the participation of leaders of the associations and nearly 100 rubber traders in Vietnam.
The conference offered opportunities for Vietnamese companies to meet, share and resolve existing difficulties of the industry in order to enhance productivity and promote cooperation on investing in and producing rubber products.
At the event, Vietnam’s rubber traders had opportunities to approach and study the experiences of Japan’s leading rubber group Showa Holdings in innovating technology, as well as introducing cooperative directions for the future such as processing rubber products for Japan in Vietnam, or for Showa Holdings to become a distribution agent of Vietnamese rubber products in Japan and other countries.
In his speech at the event, Mr Nguyen Quoc Anh, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh city Plastic Rubber Association, shared that recently the Government has had policies to speed up supporting industries in Vietnam, and the city set rubber among the four key industries to support the development of other industries.
However, supporting industries require big investment from companies. On the contrary, less-developed supporting industries make foreign investors hesitate to invest in Vietnam. In addition, Vietnam’s small and medium-sized enterprises now lack information, technology and stable quality management system.
The conference brought practical results for rubber businesses by providing information, experiences and opportunities to promote cooperation and attract investment in expanding production, increasing orders and developing exports.
The association said Showa Rubber Vietnam Company planned to seek Vietnamese producers to process its traditional products in Vietnam, as well as to cooperate in developing new products. These are expected to be new step further intensifying sustainable development for Vietnam’s rubber industry in the near future.
According to the Vietnam Rubber Association, Vietnam is now the world's third largest natural rubber producer, and rubber ranks fourth among the country’s agricultural products, with the biggest export value after coffee, rice and cashew, contributing about 1.2 percent of the country’s total export turnover in 2014.
Vietnam’s rubber industry is awaiting major advantages from Free Trade Agreements, especially the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). As Vietnam joins TPP, the country will benefit from the removal of the current 3.5 percent-57.4 percent tariff to enjoy the preferential rate of zero percent, helping the industry improve its competitive capacity. This is considered a golden chance for the industry to develop in both quantity and quality.
However, the biggest challenges for the industry are now unstable and unequal quality, and the lack of a strong brand name. Only a few big enterprises have their own brand, while the Vietnamese rubber trademark has not gained wide trust among consumers at home and abroad.
Showa Holdings was established in 1886 with its forerunner of Showa Rubber Company which was one of the oldest rubber companies in Japan. It operates in six main fields of rubber, finance, food, entertainment, sports and hotel.
In 2015, with the establishment of Showa Rubber Vietnam, Showa Holdings first stepped into Vietnam, which has great potential for products of the group, and seeks opportunities to develop and produce rubber products on technique and health with Vietnamese rubber companies.
For rubber, the group has seven subsidiaries which link its business activities in Japan and eight Southeast Asian countries. Major products include rubber lining, moulded rubber and rubber compound.
Showa Holdings has 100 years experience in producing and developing rubber lining technology not only in Japan but also in other Southeast Asian markets. Currently, Showa owns rubber lining plants in Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.
Together with tapping the existing markets, Showa Holdings continues to develop new markets in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.
The group actively invests in surveying and developing rubber products to serve infrastructure and health care demand in Japan and Southeast Asian countries.
Giang Tu
Vietnamese
