The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the People’s Committee of Bac Ninh province, and Samsung Electronics Vietnam have jointly signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a programme to support Vietnamese businesses operating in the northern province.

Delegates from Ministry of Industry and Trade, People’s Committee of Bac Ninh province,
and Samsung Electronics Vietnam sign the memorandum of understanding.

 The signing ceremony on September 21 was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.

 Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dao Quang Khai said that Bac Ninh has so far attracted nearly 1,600 FDI projects with combined registered capital of US$19.8 billion, in which projects from the Republic of Korea account for over 60% and Samsung alone makes up nearly half of all registered investment, at US$9.3 billion.

 The province has worked with Samsung in recent times to carry out a range of activities to assist other enterprises. However, Khai said, the cooperation mechanism between the two is not sufficiently strong to gain effective support, while many domestic businesses are also not strong enough to participate in supply chains, and connectivity between them and Samsung remains weak.

 Under the MoU, the programme will be implemented from 2020-2025 and include two parts: a business improvement consultation sub-programme and another to develop a network of suppliers.

 The programme aims to gradually increase the contribution of Vietnamese businesses operating in Bac Ninh in the industrial production value created by Samsung.

 Samsung Vietnam General Director Choi Joo Ho affirmed that Samsung Vietnam will intensify collaboration with the Vietnamese Government and authorised offices to expand activities to develop supporting industries.

 The signing of the programme forms a premise for Samsung to share its experience with supporting industry enterprises in Bac Ninh and to help them ensure competitiveness in production, he added.

 Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy PM Dung said that Vietnam’s supporting industries still exhibit shortcomings such as small scale, few products, high prices, and low competitiveness.

 He expects this newly-signed programme to help resolve these shortcomings and serve as a model for other enterprises to learn from.

 He assigned the MoIT and other ministries and sectors to focus on resolving difficulties facing businesses, especially those relating to capital and human resources.

 The Vietnamese Government has pledged to always support cooperation between ministries, localities, and major groups in carrying out programmes helping businesses to develop supporting industries, Dung added.

 An agreement on providing technical assistance for potential suppliers in Bac Ninh was also signed at the event.