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20 years of protection, electronics industry still just assembling
Locally-manufactured electronic products have been protected since the 1980s but the local electronics industry is still a loser. Locally-made products can’t compete with imported items.
Two years ago, when the prices of TV sets of all kinds sharply fell, many domestic electronic assemblers understood that they were losing at home.
Various forms of failure
TV sets bearing Vietnamese brands like Darling, Belco, Favi, SAM are sold in remote and rural areas where consumers don’t have many choices.
A reputed local brand for electronic products like Belco is present at small supermarkets in the suburbs of HCM City, not big ones in the city’s hub. Belco currently manufactures only flat screen TV sets of 21 inches, which are priced over VND2 million/unit, VND100,000-500,000 higher than similar products of Samsum, LG, TCL.
The cheapest locally-made TV set is SAM 21 inch of East Asia Company, which is priced at VND1.45 millon/unit, but this price is similar to that of the famous brands Samsung, LG or TCL.
Chau Electronics Company is successful with DVD players, karaoke equipment and speakers, but it has failed with LCD TV sets. Among local electronic assemblers, only VVC offers LCD TV sets, but VVC’s products can’t compete with Samsung, Sony, LG and Toshiba.
Le Van Chinh, technical advisor for Son Ca, a local electronics company, said TV sets assembled by Vietnamese companies account for around 10% of the market. Though there are over ten companies assembling TV sets, only five are known by customers.
Only assembling
The director of a leading electronics company in Vietnam, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I think the Vietnamese electronics industry is a zero at present. Anybody can do the job that my company and other electronics companies in Vietnam are doing.”
He said local electronic companies are operating in the following way: importing components from China, Taiwan, Thailand, etc. to assemble into complete products, then sticking their brands on the products – and that’s all!
“Vietnamese electronics companies are very weak in competition,” admitted Duong Minh, Director of the Thu Duc Electronics JS Company.
The marketing manager of an electronics firm said that in the past his company defined TV sets as its strategic product but this product is no longer a strategic one.
According to an electronics company in HCM City, profit from a flat screen 21-inch TV is around VND20,000 ($1.2) but the firm must continue manufacturing this product to keep its prestige with shareholders.
As profit from TV sets is nearly zero, many companies have turned to assemble karaoke and DVD players, speakers, amplifiers, etc.
“These products can bring about profit for our company,” said an official of an electronics firm in HCM City, though he did not say how much profit. However, the job is still just assembling.
VNN
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