HCM City (VNA) - The 2019 Vietnam International Machinery Fair and2019 Vietnam Supporting Industry Fair opened in Ho Chi Minh City on December11, offering opportunities for companies in the manufacturing and supportingindustries to compare notes and explore business opportunities.

Pham Thanh Kien, Director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, saidthe two fairs feature 300 exhibitors from 12 countries and territories,including the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, the US, UK, China,Germany and Vietnam.

Thirty percent of the 460 booths are displaying supporting industry productsproduced by Vietnamese companies and metal products and metalworking solutions,25 percent are showcasing automation solutions and motion control systems,industrial materials and components, and construction machinery, and the resthave factory and electrical equipment, he said.

There will also be specialised seminars, field visits and business-matchingevents to update participants on the top international trends and technologies,and offer business opportunities, he said.

Speaking at the inauguration, Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the municipal People’sCommittee, said the city has been focusing on the development of processing andmanufacturing industries to produce supporting products for domesticconsumption and export.

Supporting industries are critical and will be a growth engine for otherindustries, he said.

The city has in place an investment stimulation programme to boost thedevelopment of the manufacturing and supporting industries, which has helpedfirms invest in upgrading machinery and equipment, he said.

Many companies participating in this programme have started joining globalsupply chains and some companies such as Hiep Phuoc Thanh Company and Minh NguyenSupporting Industries JSC have become suppliers for Samsung, he said.

The city has attractive policies to solicit foreign investment in itssupporting industries.

Organised by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade’s SupportingIndustry Development Centre, the Korea Association of Machinery Industry, CoexVietnam and the HCM City Association of Mechanical – Electrical Enterprises,the fairs will run until December 14 at the Saigon Exhibition and ConventionCentre in District 7./.