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Vietnam: Government passes restructuring plan for industrial sector

The Hanoitimes – Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung recently signed a decision on restructuring the nation’s industrial and construction sectors in 2018-2020 with vision to 2025, targeting to have the sectors accounting for 30-35 percent of the country’s GDP by 2020.
Under Decision No. 598/GD-TTg, the growth rate of the industrial and construction sectors must be higher than the nation’s average GDP growth rate while employment in the sectors will account for 25-30 percent of all jobs by 2020.
The proportion of manufactured and processed goods in the country’s total export turnover is also targeted to reach 85-90 percent by the year and the value-added growth in the manufacturing industry from 8 to 10 percent.
The decision also plans for an annual average productivity growth rate in industry of over 5.5 percent. It also seeks to narrow the gap between Vietnam and ASEAN-4 countries on indices of industrial competitiveness and increase the number of hi-tech industries in the manufacturing and private sectors. 
In the period up to 2025, the proportion of processed and manufactured products among total goods exported will remain above 85 percent and the amount of labor, enterprises and investment in the industry will be higher than for 2015-2020.
In order to meet the targets, the government will enhance the application of advanced technology in industrial production, which will be linked with environmental protection and response to climate change. A roadmap to replace and eliminate obsolete equipment in factories must be built while polluting factories must be shut down.
The value chain of products such as textiles, leather, footwear, chemicals, food and electronics will be also upgraded to increase value-added. The ability to participate in the global production network must be enhanced in order to effectively exploit recent free trade agreements.
Besides, priorities should be given to develop the domestic steel industry; plants should use environmentally friendly technologies; small-scale steel mills and rolling mills, backward technologies and inefficient use of resources must be reduced and the sustainable use of energy must be promoted.
In addition, trade promotion and brand development for Vietnam’s industrial products and industrial enterprises should be boosted. Resources on implementing the annual national trade promotion program in industries in which Vietnam has advantages, such as food processing, beverages, textiles and footwear, should also be expanded.
Earlier, in March this year, the Politburo also issued Resolution 23-NQ/TW to develop the national industry until 2030, with vision to 2045, aiming to finalize the industrialization and modernization targets and become one of the top three countries in industry in ASEAN.
According to the resolution, Vietnam’s industry will contribute 40 percent to the national GDP by 2030. The proportion of processing and manufacturing industry will be some 30 percent, of which 20 percent will be from the manufacturing industry. 
The value of high-tech processing and manufacturing products will reach at least 45 percent while the industrial labor productivity will increase by 7.5 percent on average annually.
The industrial growth rate will average at over 8.5 percent, of which the processing and manufacturing industry will see a rise by 10 percent yearly. 
The resolution also sets the country’s competitive industrial performance (CIP) index to be among the top three countries in ASEAN while the percentage of workers in the industrial and service sectors is over 70 percent. 
Some large-sized clusters will be built to link domestic industrial enterprises and help them have international competitiveness. 
According to experts, the development of the industrial and construction sectors has been the key driver to boost the country`s GDP growth to date this year.
Source: http://www.hanoitimes.vn/economy/2018/05/81E0C7A6/government-passes-restructuring-plan-for-industrial-sector/