The electronics and IT sector has seen high
profits in recent years but it is still facing with a problem of low-value
products, according to the General Statistics Office.
Viet
Nam's export of mobile phones and accessories ranked third last year, after garments
and crude oil, with an export turnover of US$6.86 billion or a year-on-year
increase of 200 per cent.
The
garment and textile sector brought the country more than $14 billion, with a
labour force of three million, Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association said.
Crude oil export posted a turnover of $7.24 billion.
Over
the past three years, mobile phones and computer exports brought in $2 billion
and electronics and electronic appliances earned $3 billion each year. With a
young population and low income, Viet Nam will continue to be an attractive
consumer destination for businesses for the foreseeable future.
Statistics
about the labour force in the electronics industry are unofficial but the
revenue from this sector will continue to rapidly increase and lure more
workers. Last year, Canon Viet Nam employed 23,000 workers, bringing a revenue
of $1.6 billion. Samsung Mobile Viet Nam posted an export turnover of $5
billion and employed nearly 15,000 workers. Many big foreign companies have
plans to build their plants in Viet Nam, Saigon Marketing newspaper reports.
Such
development has led to a paradox in the electronics industry. Sales from this
sector are great but of low value due to unskilled workers.
For
instance, Samsung Viet Nam spent $1 billion in a short time to bring a top
export revenue for the country, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the
country's electronic exports. Viet Nam's electronics industry has been given
incentives related to investment capital, tax policy and land but in the last 20
years about 100 companies have been involved in manufacturing and assembling
low-value electronics items only.
Recently,
Qualcomm, a designer and supplier of CDMA chipsets and system software,
committed to transfer technology for Viettel corporation to produce mobile
phones. Viettel is the first customer of Qualcomm in ASEAN after large scale
markets including China, South Korea and Japan. Viet Nam remains a fiercely
competitive market, but domestic suppliers are not strong enough to compete
with foreign players.
According
to Qualcomm Indochina general director Vu Minh Tri, if a Vietnamese company
purchases products from other countries and uses Vietnamese brand names, they
have to pay a copyright fee.
Viettel
now has an ambitious plan to employ experienced engineers from global
technology groups to help address limits of Vietnamese engineers who are good
at technology but are poor at research, development and design due to the lack
of a design industry.
The
investment flow into the electronics industry now has also changed. The foreign
manufacturers have become a link to connect Viet Nam with their global supply
chain. Foreign investors will not be persuaded to share in the local market if
they don't find opportunities or profit here.
These
factors will depend on Government policy to create a strong R&D
environment. "If not, Viet Nam will continue to be a destination of
assemblers due to its cheap labour cost but without having access to the high
value segment of the industry," said experts.
VNS
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment