Hanoi(VNA) – A big development gap between APEC member economies is hindering the region’s autoindustry from transferring technology and promoting linkages, said an official ofthe Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 26th APEC Automotive Dialogue(AD26) in Hanoi on May 11, Le Huu Phuc, Director of the MoIT’s Department ofInternational Relations, said that APEC should give priority to assistingdeveloping economies in boosting the auto industry.

He called for APEC member economies to cooperate effectively in capacitybuilding to study auto industry policies, focusing on priority areas such asmarket access, human resources and infrastructure, technology incentives aswell as environment standards for sustainable development.

Regarding the fourth industrial revolution, Phuc said it will lead to therestructuring of the global manufacturing system, not only in technology butalso in management and placing of new business models.

New technologytrends may disrupt value chains, possibly shifting a significant part of globalproduction from developing to developed countries, he said, adding that accessto end markets will likely become more critical than access to resources.

According to Phuc, with the fact that the auto industry’s annual growth of 4-6percent largely due to the flow of FDI mostly within the APEC region, theimprovement of the market and investment climate will continue to be the mostimportant factor for the APEC auto industry.

AD 26 was held as part of the second APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 2) andrelated meetings. At the dialogue, delegates discussed the real situation ofthe auto industry and auto market in APEC member economies as well as theimpacts of free trade agreements (FTAs) on the regional auto industry.

In addition, theevent also scrutinised policies and regulations on the auto industry, harmonisationof standards, future orientations and technology development trends of theindustry.

The auto industry plays an essential role in APEC economies, manufacturing 60million vehicles per year and directly employing 4 million workers.

According the MoIT, automakers in Vietnam turn out around 500,000 units a yearand create 80,000 direct jobs. In 2016, the local industry recorded a growth of29 percent and contributed nearly 3 percent of the country’s gross domesticproduct (GDP).-VNA