APEC approves Support Industry Initiative

Initiative aims to evaluate polices and experience in developing a modern support industry.

A Support Industry Initiative proposed by Vietnam and Japan has been adopted by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies, the Vietnam News Agency reports.

The initiative aims to evaluate polices and experience in developing Vietnam’s modern support industry, through which Vietnam will partner with Japan and the APEC Policy Support Unit to devise a set of policy guidelines and good governance practices on APEC Support Industry, which are expected to be submitted to the APEC Joint Diplomatic-Economic Ministerial Meeting later this year.

Mr. Mac Quoc Anh, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Small and Medium Enterprises Association, underscored the importance of the initiative because 97 per cent of Vietnamese businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

He said that supporting SMEs is a necessary task, as they create jobs, value and stability, while State-owned enterprises attract as much as 80 per cent of domestic capital but create a mere 20 per cent of value.

Mr. Luong Hoang Thai, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Multilateral Trade Policy Department, described the development of the support industry as a strategic choice of APEC member economies.

He added that one of the pillars of APEC Year 2017 is creating a driving force for its member economies to further integrate into the regional and global supply, manufacturing, and value chain while promoting support industries and services.

by Nguyen Quoc / VET