Overcoming barriers in technology transfer
(Baonghean) - According to data released by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the proportion of Vietnamese enterprises with new high technology is about 20.6%, much lower than that of other countries in the region (Philippines 29.1%, Indonesia 29.7%, Thailand 30.8%, Malaysia 51.3%, Singapore 73%). Among industrial production enterprises (accounting for about 1/3 of the total number of enterprises), the group of enterprises with advanced technology is only about 12% (mainly foreign-invested enterprises), the remaining 88% are of the average and backward type.
The rate of investment in technological innovation of Vietnamese enterprises is only less than 0.5% of revenue (while Korea is 10%). According to the 2014 Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Vietnam ranked 68th out of 144 countries ranked in the global competitiveness index; in which the level of technological readiness ranked 99th, the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises in technology transfer ranked 93rd, the level of technology absorption of enterprises ranked 121st, and the ability of enterprises to absorb new technology ranked 123rd.
The direct cause of the above situation is that the majority of Vietnamese enterprises do not have a long-term vision, are lacking highly qualified human resources and financial resources to innovate and upgrade technology; enterprises' investment in research and technological innovation is still low. Vietnam currently has 1,200 science and technology (S&T) organizations, 2.5 times more than in 1995, of which 60% are state-owned. Although the number is increasing rapidly, the quality of activities and creativity of S&T organizations are still low. Meanwhile, there are no reasonable mechanisms to bring S&T advances into enterprises.
The reason why Vietnamese enterprises are behind in terms of technology level is because there are many barriers in technology transfer. Reaching advanced technology level is mainly FDI enterprises. However, the innovation and upgrading of technology in these enterprises (subsidiaries) is decided by parent companies abroad. Foreign companies bringing technology to Vietnam mainly invest in product assembly lines through FDI enterprises. For Vietnamese enterprises, in the process of technology transfer, due to lack of financial capacity and many other reasons (including the influence of interest groups, manipulation by corrupt elements), it has led to the import of outdated technology lines. According to a survey by technical experts, Vietnam's mechanical industry is 4 decades behind the world's technical level. Technology in the mechanical engineering industry used to produce machine tools, dynamic machines, consumer goods, etc. was mostly born before 1980, with up to 30% of the equipment having a lifespan of more than half a century.
The reassignment of labor after technology transfer is also an obstacle that many enterprises have not overcome. Due to outdated technology and low labor quality, the labor force in Vietnamese enterprises (including FDI enterprises) is mainly unskilled labor. When transferring technology, modern equipment will "eliminate" a series of low-quality workers from the production line. For private enterprises, this is normal. For state-owned enterprises (or equitized state-owned enterprises), solving employment for workers after technology transfer is a burden. Therefore, many enterprises are not interested in technology transfer. Some enterprises, when transferring technology, do not install some modern equipment, but still maintain manual labor so that workers have jobs.
Economists say that the fundamental problem of Vietnam today is to innovate the economic growth model, shifting the growth model from exploiting natural resources, taking advantage of cheap labor, increasing investment capital... to a growth model using modern technology, taking shortcuts to catch up with the world's advanced technology level. To achieve that goal, the State must have specific mechanisms and policies to remove barriers, promote enterprises to transfer technology in an increasingly modern direction. The business community must consider investment in innovation and upgrading technology as a fundamental solution to increase profits, increase competitiveness, and develop more sustainably.
Tran Hong Co
