Vietnam’s biggest international expo for industrial equipment – machinery and electronics manufacturing technology was kicked off on Thursday at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7.

The 7th annual exhibition is co-organized by  HCMC Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC), the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), and Thai exhibition organizer Reed Tradex Co.

The 7th annual international machine tools and metalworking technology exhibition, better known as Metalex Vietnam, featured over 500 global brands from 25 countries and territories worldwide.

Meanwhile, the international electronics manufacturing technology trade exhibition and conference, better known as Nepcon Vietnam, showcased 200 global brands from 20 countries and territories across the globe.

The 3-day event is usually a place for local and foreign industrialists to showcase machinery and equipment in many categories, including machine tools, welding technology, factory automation, pumps and valves, material handling, molds and dyes and control measurement among many others.

In addition, it is also a chance for them to discover how they can improve the productivity with the right tools and metalworking technologies.

For component manufacturers from electronics industry, they may find new ways to produce parts meting high standards of foreign partners with new testing technologies and equipment for electronic part manufacturing.

Moreover, the 2013 exhibition will include 2 additional events, Business Alliance for Supporting Industry in HCMC, and INDEE Vietnam.

While the former offers visitors a chance to meet Japanese and Vietnamese part buyers and sellers, the latter gives them the opportunities to meet new partners from India.

Two classes, Engineer Master Class, will also be co-organized with HCMC Association of Mechanical Engineering on the sideline of the main events for over 200 chosen engineers so that they can learn how to achieve better performance in their professions.

“Some thousands of industrialists from 24 countries worldwide have pre-registered to attend the event,” said Duangdej Yuaikwarmdee, deputy managing director of the Thai exhibition organizer.

“The event is expected to be one among necessary preparatory step for Vietnam’s industrial integration for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015,” said exhibitors.

Two days earlier, the organizer launched a road show to local industrial parks to call for local visitors to the event.

Make it better

Business Alliance for Supporting Industry in HCMC, a business matching event, is an initiative of JETRO with an aim to “heavily concentrate on the side of forming a business alliance rather than just an exhibition,” said Hirotaka Yasuzumi, managing director of JETRO in HCMC.

The new initiative is launched with the purpose to address the difficulties Japanese firms currently meet when setting up their production bases in Vietnam. 

“Newly approved Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Japanese firms in Vietnam accounted for 51 percent of total new FDI last year, and has made up 32 percent of the total so far this year,” he said.

“Vietnam still draws attention of Japanese companies because of its abundant well-performed and cheap labor.”

“But the biggest challenges many Japanese firm faces when entering the country is its weak foundation for supporting industry.”

“According to JETRO’s survey for Japanese firms operating in Asia and Oceania last year, the proportion of procurement from local firms for Japanese firm made up just only 12.6 percent, in which the rates in the northern and southern region was at 9.2 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.”

“The rate was at 23.2 percent and 20.4 percent in Thailand and Indonesia, respectively,” he added.

 “As the proverb says: strike while the iron is hot, JETRO do support strongly for the development of supporting industry, especially in the southern region of Vietnam,” he added.