The Vietnam’s electronic and information technology export turnover this year may reach US$3 billion, according to Tran Quang Hung, General Secretary of the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association (VEIA).

Like previous years, more than 90 percent of the total export turnover is forecasted to come from companies with foreign-invested capital.

Vietnamese electronic enterprises are generally small- and medium-sized. Due to a lack of capital and out-dated technology the imbalance in export turnover between domestic and FDI companies is unlikely to be resolved in the near future, Hung said.

According to Hung, the recent biggest challenge that the industry is facing is a dependence on multi-national companies.

In 2007, the Government approved a master plan to develop Vietnamese electronics industry up to 2020. However, the problem was how to implement the strategy, he said.

To solve the problem, Hung suggested that support industries be developed and research and development into new products using existing spare parts be carried out.

“Capital is a big problem. For example, it costs about US$500 million to invest in a production line to produce LCD screen. So, I think, the best way is to develop a support industry,” he said.

This year, the electronics industry faced many difficulties due to the world economic recession.

Up to the end of March, the industry lost 30 percent of export orders. In the first four months of this year, export turnover dropped by 8 percent over the corresponding period last year.

However, signs of recovery came in May. Export turnover in the first eight months of the year increased to US$1.6 billion.

Up to the end of this year, the domestic electronics industry will see between 10 percent and 15 percent growth thanks to the Government stimulus packages.