Supporting industry: A boost to help bridge the technology gap

Mr. Pham Van Quan:To develop the supporting industry, it is necessary to promote the application of technology. This includes enhancing capacity, improving the competitiveness of enterprises, as well as attracting investment in projects to produce supporting industrial products using modern technology.

In recent years, many Vietnamese supporting industry enterprises have been improving their production capacity and participating in the global production chain. IoT and AI technologies are increasingly being applied more widely in the supporting industry in Vietnam, helping to increase productivity, improve product quality and optimize production costs.

However, according to a survey in the supporting industry sector, over 30% of enterprises still operate entirely with manual control equipment, over 50% have semi-automatic equipment, but less than 10% of enterprises use robots in the production line. The difference in technology is clearly shown between tier 1 and tier 2, 3 suppliers of FDI enterprises such as Samsung, Toyota, etc.

Faced with the wave of global supply chain shifts, Vietnamese supporting industry enterprises not only need to upgrade machinery, but also standardize the entire production process, make the supply chain transparent and improve management capacity according to international standards. The application of high and modern technology in the industry is a key factor to improve competitiveness and product quality, meeting the increasingly high demands of the market.

In order to support Vietnamesesupporting industry enterprises, the Government recently issued Decree 205/2025/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 111/2015/ND-CP on supporting industry development (effective from September 1, 2025). The new document is considered an important adjustment after nearly a decade, helping to unlock resources for domestic enterprises to participate more deeply in the global supply chain.

The Decree clearly states: Support up to 50% of the cost of investment in machinery and equipment, sample products, design, software, training, hiring consultants, inventions, transfer of intellectual property rights, industrial property, and testing of results for cooperation projects on applied research and technology transfer between enterprises and scientific and technological organizations; support up to 70% of the cost of implementing activities and tasks to improve the quality and quantity of experts and consulting units in the field of technology application and transfer.

Organizations and individuals conducting applied research, technology transfer, innovation and improvement activities to produce supporting industrial products in the List of supporting industrial products prioritized for development shall enjoy incentives and support from: National Technology Innovation Fund, National Science and Technology Development Fund, National High-Tech Development Program, incentives and support for technology transfer and other incentives and support according to current regulations.

At the same time, support research and development, purchase, transfer application and technology innovation in experimental production of components, spare parts and materials; research and production of basic and necessary raw materials and materials to serve the production of supporting industrial products with a maximum support level of 50% of the cost.

Projects to build facilities and research and development centers serving the production of supporting industrial products enjoy incentives of land rent exemption and reduction according to land law; and receive financial support for investment in research equipment from the Supporting Industrial Development Program.

Mr. Pham Van Quan:Every year, the Department of Industry has implemented the Supporting Industry Development Program through projects with a series of useful support activities for enterprises producing supporting industrial products.

For example : Supportsupporting industrialenterprisesto connect, become product suppliers for domestic and foreign customers, promote foreign investment in the supporting industry sector;supportenterprises to apply management systems that meet the requirements of global production chains in business administration and production management; supporttrainingto improve the quality of human resources to meet the requirements of supporting industrial product manufacturing industries;supportresearch and development, application of technology transfer and innovation in the trial production of components, spare parts, raw materials and materials;buildand operate a supporting industry information page.

After participating in the support activities of the Program, supporting industrial product manufacturing enterprises have really changed and transformed in a positive direction, with the ability to increase productivity and production efficiency while cutting costs, saving resources, helping to improve the competitiveness of enterprises as well as opening up many opportunities to find new potential customers and partners...

The activities to support enterprises in manufacturing supporting industrial products to innovate and improve technology under the Program have brought practical results to the transferred enterprises such as:Creatingnew products, increasing output for enterprises; saving raw materials, electricity, water; reducing the rate of defective and damaged products; improving labor productivity... leading to reducing costs and increasing profits for enterprises; increasing the competitiveness of products with countries in the region and the world to promote the development of supporting industries, aiming to increase the localization rate.

However, I think that there should be specific incentive policies to encourage enterprises to innovate technology, especially in the supporting industry sector. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has recently been studying and issuing additional incentive and support policies specifically for supporting industry enterprises.

Specifically, it is proposed to develop incentive packages on corporate income tax, equipment import tax, and low-interest credit support for machinery innovation and production line automation projects. In addition, the Ministry also coordinates to promote the formation of funds to support technological innovation, encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to boldly apply modern science and technology.

At the same time, in order to promote technology transfer and supply chain linkage, the Department of Industry has been implementing programs to connect domestic enterprises with FDI enterprises in the automobile and electronics industries. For example, through the Supporting Industry Development Program, many supply-demand connection fairs and supplier search days have been organized, helping large companies such as Toyota, Samsung, LG, Canon, etc. find suitable suppliers.

A typical success in the FDI - domestic enterprise linkage is the cooperation program with Samsung Vietnam. Since 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has coordinated with Samsung to implement a consulting program for Vietnamese enterprises.

As a result, 379 Vietnamese enterprises have received direct advice from Samsung to improve their competitiveness. Samsung has also trained about 400 Vietnamese consultants - this is the team that then travels to factories in the country to continue supporting enterprises to improve according to Samsung's standards. Thanks to these efforts, the number of Vietnamese tier 1 and 2 suppliers in Samsung's global supply chain has increased from 25 enterprises in 2014 to more than 300 enterprises in 2025 (more than 10 times).

In particular, from 2022, Samsung will send experts from Korea to transfer technology on smart factories to Vietnamese enterprises in both the North and the South. This is a typical example showing that technology transfer through FDI can help domestic enterprises quickly access modern technology.

On the other hand, strengthen international cooperation and implement technical support projects: Build centers such as Vietnam - Korea Technology Consulting and Solutions Center (VITASK), IDC Industrial Development Support Center, Southern Industrial Development Support Technical Center (IDCS)... The Department of Industry has deployed the construction of this model nearly 10 years ago in accordance with the spirit of Resolution 57-NQ/TW.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is accelerating the construction of two Industrial Development Support Centers (North in Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park - Hanoi and South in Ho Chi Minh City). These are technical centers equipped with modern machinery and laboratories, with the function of supporting enterprises in product research and development, testing, measurement, and transfer of new technologies. When put into operation, these centers will be the technical "midwives" for domestic enterprises, especially supporting industry enterprises, helping them test and apply advanced technologies at low cost.

For example, the VITASK project was established with the support of the Korean Government, focusing on improving the capacity of supporting industry enterprises in the automotive and electrical and electronics sectors. From 2020 to 2023, VITASK has trained and provided technical support to more than 100 Vietnamese enterprises through training courses and experience-sharing seminars on mold design and advanced manufacturing processes.

The Department of Industry attaches importance to mobilizing international resources (capital, technology, management experience) through cooperation projects and initiatives. Currently, the Department is the focal point for implementing a number of cooperation projects with partners such as: Korea, Japan, World Bank, UNIDO... The results show that many enterprises after being consulted have significantly reduced errors and improved product quality.

Cooperation programs with Samsung Group are also being promoted: In addition to innovation consulting, from 2021, the two sides will implement a project to train 200 mold technicians for Vietnam; in 2022-2023, they will coordinate to support 50 pilot enterprises to apply the smart factory model.

The Department has also worked with JICA (Japan) on a project to improve productivity and quality for manufacturing enterprises, and with a number of European partners on projects on cleaner production and green production. These international cooperations not only provide financial resources and experts but also contribute to effective technology transfer, helping Vietnamese enterprises shorten the technology gap compared to the region.

Mr. Pham Van Quan:  Human resourcedevelopmentis a very important issue in the development ofsupporting industriesand industry. Vietnam is in the golden population period with about 54% of the population being of working age, of which the labor force is very young and abundant.

However, the current source of highly skilled and technically qualified human resources is still limited in both quantity and quality, which is a major obstacle for many businesses operating in industries such as mechanics, manufacturing, electrical and electronic equipment and components, etc., especially in the context of integration and competition when participating deeply in the global value chain, as well as enhancing Vietnam's position in the value chain.

In this context, the Department of Industry has recently collaborated with Samsung and large corporations to organize training courses for middle-level managers of industrial enterprises. The goal is to train managers to understand smart manufacturing, thereby leading enterprises to systematically implement digital transformation.

At the same time, through industrial development support centers, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has opened many training courses for engineers on molds, precision mechanics, automation... These are areas where mechanical, automobile, and electronics enterprises are in dire need of high-quality human resources.

The government has set a strategic goal: to train 100,000 engineers in the fields of semiconductors, AI and other high technologies in the coming years.

The Department of Industry is also developing a program to connect the system of universities and colleges under the Ministry (30 schools) with businesses to link research with training and move towards production. Human resources are trained according to business orders, approaching the needs of society with standard manners and attitudes.

Thank you!