Deputy Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, Nguyễn Hồ Hải, speaks at a seminar in HCM City on June 9. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

HCM CITY — Science and technology has become indispensable to socio-economic development and digital transformation, Deputy Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, Nguyễn Hồ Hải, has said.

Speaking at a seminar on "Promoting the role of science and technology to serve the city’s socio-economic development" held by the Department of Science and Technology late last week, he said HCM City’s four key industries (mechanical engineering, electronics - information technology, chemicals - rubber -plastics, and food processing) have high rate of adoption of science and technology, and it is increasing year after year.

The city’s agricultural sector is gradually shifting to high-tech farming and applying bio-technology in the production of seedlings and livestock breeds, which offer high economic efficiency and are in line with its urban agriculture orientation, he said.

The city strives to maintain its role as the country’s economic locomotive, taking the lead in implementing a new growth model by developing the digital, sharing and circular economies, he said.

To achieve the goals, it is necessary to create favourable conditions for research and application of technology in these fields, he said.

"HCM City needs to enhance research and development, especially in priority areas such as green technology, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, and create favourable conditions for technology transfer from research centres to enterprises, from innovative ideas to actual products and services.

“In addition, technology firms, universities, research institutes, and local communities need to foster co-operation to create an environment that promotes more sustainable development."

Nguyễn Việt Dũng, director of the city's Department of Science and Technology, said the tech sector still faces many challenges nowithstanding.

Investment in science and technology is still modest, with the spending rate, though higher than the national average, not being commensurate with the city’s development demand or matching global trends, he said.

Bùi Thanh Luân, director of Hiệp Phát Mechatronics Co., Ltd, said the Government has a number of policies offering preferential credit to firms, but technology enterprises have not been able to access loans.

They desperately need an industrial park or cluster dedicated to the sector to be able to receive support in terms of premises, administrative procedures and others, he said.

Firms need to invest more in research and development and innovation to succeed in the current competitive business environment, he said.

Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Trọng Hoài of the University of Economics in HCM City said the city needs to create an eco-system that promotes the transformation and development of existing industries and services towards efficiency and innovation associated with digital transformation and the digital economy.

The city also needs to gradually restructure its industrial parks, especially those near the city centre, to make them eco-friendly, he said, adding that they must be supplemented with an innovation eco-system. — VNS