A seminar took place in Da Nang on Monday to discuss support policies to help local businesses innovate their technologies in order to improve their competitiveness.  The seminar was jointly organised by the city’s Union of Science and Technology Associations and the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

The participants at the event affirmed that the official establishment of the Association of South-East Asian Nations Economic Community (AEC) on 31 December 2015 will bring more opportunities and challenges to Vietnamese businesses in general, and those from Da Nang in particular.  They also identified what support policies are needed to help local enterprises enhance their competitiveness. 

Making shoes at a local enterprise

Once the AEC is established, Vietnamese businesses will have more chances to increase their exports to other ASEAN member countries, as well as to have more new customers in the regional-level market and fully integrate into the global supply chains.  However, a recent survey conducted by Da Nang’s authorities revealed that over 80% of the city’s businesses have yet to become fully aware of both the opportunities and the challenges which will arise when the AEC is founded.  This is considered to be a deeply concerning issue.  Meanwhile, 2 years ago some groups of Thai businesspeople paid visits to many Vietnamese cities in order to learn about their business environment.

Also at the seminar, some economic experts stressed the urgency for local businesses to take initiative to gain a thorough grasp of AEC-related information and further promote cooperative ties with prestigious distributors of their products in their regional import markets.  In addition, special heed should be paid to taking effective measures to protect Vietnamese-made products in line with the AEC’s regulations.  In particular, technological innovations play a crucial role in facilitating local enterprises to enhance their competitive capacities with their foreign rivals.

Addressing the event, municipal People’s Committee Vice Chairman Phung Tan Viet remarked that the formation of the AEC would ensure free flows of goods, services, investment capital and skilled labour in the Southeast Asian region.  Most of the tariffs between the ASEAN member nations will be removed, whilst certain administrative procedures will be streamlined.  Therefore, he suggested that the city’s policy-makers should develop suitable strategies to help local businesses enhance their integration into the competitive ASEAN market.