To increase the localization rate of key export products

 In recent years, Binh Duong has emerged as one of the nation's major industrial and investment attracting centers, with more than 33,000 local businesses and nearly 3,390 foreign invested enterprises (by the end of 2017). Besides, Binh Duong has many industrial parks and clusters attracting many foreign investors.

To strengthen business connections

Binh Duong is ranked second in the country for FDI attraction, with over 3,000 investment projects from 59 countries and territories in the world. In the first 6 months of 2018, FDI attraction reached $718 million, reaching 51.3% of the year plan. Key export items of the province, such as wood, textiles, footwear, electronic items ... maintain a steady annual growth rate. Industrial production value of the province accounts for over 13% of industrial production value of the whole country.

Production line at Binh Duong 3 Garment Company. 

The most concern of provincial leadership is that how manufacturing is able to fully utilize its potential. In fact, the province's manufacturing is mainly processing activities, not many enterprises apply high technologies, produce high-quality products with high intellectual content. Producers have not been able to take the initiative in raw material sources for the production of export goods. Textiles, footwear, mechanical engineering, electronics - key industries of the province, still rely heavily on imported raw materials ...

In the global and domestic context, there is a need for new thinking in the way of economic development towards quality and sustainability, while relying on utilizing regional advantages and application of information technology and high technology. Provincial leadership has been discussing solutions to provide an inter-sectoral and inter-provincial approach that could help enterprises deeply integrate into the value chain at a global scale. Accordingly, the Prime Minister approved the master plan for socio-economic development of Binh Duong province up to 2020, the additional planning till 2025 in Decision No. 893/QD-TTg on June 11, 2014. According to the master plan, the general objective of Binh Duong province’s manufacturing is to develop in the direction of diversifying products, applying high technology, clean technology, friendly with the environment, high internal rate, less intensive labor.

In addition, Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 3242/QD-UBND dated 24 November 2016 on the implementation plan of Program No 24-CTr/TU of provincial Party Committee on the continued development of high quality services to serve industrial production and urban Binh Duong in the period 2016-2020, in which Department of Industry and Trade assume the setting up of project “To increase the proportion of domestic raw materials in export products by over 20 %, Binh Duong strategy in period 2016-2020". Provincial People's Committee approved the integration and implementation of the development the project "To increase the proportion of intellectual content in export products by over 10% in the period 2016-2020" and "To increase the proportion of technological content of main products and services of the province by over 20% in period 2016-2020".

Solutions for sustainable development

Provincial People's Committee assigned Department of Industry and Trade to implement the project "To increase the localization ratio, content of technology and knowledge in key export products and services of the province in terms of knowledge and technology content in some key industries and support services in Binh Duong province in the period of 2018-2020, towards 2025". This project identifies 4 key production sectors including electronics, mechanical engineering, textiles, ceramics, logistics, and education.

According to the project, respondents are enterprises in the value chain of 6 sectors: electronics (telephone, computer, electronic products), mechanics (manufacturing), textiles, ceramics, logistics, and education - training of Binh Duong and some provinces in the southern key economic zone. The selection of these industries was based on the proportion of contribution to export turnover and production value of Binh Duong. The project has Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Center for WTO Integration Assistance in Ho Chi Minh City as consultants.

According to Nguyen Van Danh, Director of Department of Industry and Trade, the project implementation will be based on assessing the current status and ability to conduct localization/enhancement of knowledge and technology content in some key industries/main products of Binh Duong province and its position, purposes of localization/enhancement of knowledge and technology content for key industries of Binh Duong province in each period.

The general objective of the above-mentioned project is the possibility of increasing localization rate, knowledge and technology content in some key industries and support services in Binh Duong province, set out an appropriate roadmap and solutions to ensure enterprise benefits and efficiency in production and export activities in the province. Based on this foundation, Department of Industry and Trade will advise Provincial People's Committee on solutions to deploy localization/enhancement of knowledge, technology content that is suitable for selected industries.

Reported by Tieu My – Translated by Ngoc Huynh