The HCMC technology market has attracted great investment from the public, especially from businesses for the sake of technological innovation, research and development, rationalization of production, and creativity. Technology trading floors, therefore, have become a logical means to establish connections between technology suppliers and buyers, to promote research result commercialization and technology transfer.
Statistics reveal that during 2017-2021, these trading floors was the key factor for the introduction of Techport – an electronic information portal for innovation and technology transfer – in 2017, the organization of a professional technology livestream in 2018 and a series of technology talk shows (Technology Cooperation and Idea Connection in 2020, for example), the launch of Techmart – a technology market – in 2021.
The HCMC Center for Statistics and Science and Technology Information (CESTI) reported that Techmarts has been the location for 1,300 national and international technology owners to display over 5,000 products, devices. It has also been the consultation place for more than 1,500 entities, and the place to sign 141 memoranda of understanding and 29 technology transfer contracts, worth nearly VND197 billion (US$8.4 million).
Deputy Head of the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development Pham Duc Nghiem informed that Vietnam now has over 800 intermediary organizations in the science and technology market. From 2015-2020, 20 local technology trading floors were formed, plus one for the Northern coastal area and one for the Mekong Delta, compared to only 8 trading floors by 2015.
Acting Director of CESTI Nguyen Duc Tuan commented that despite such great contribution of technology trading floors, it is so hard to exactly calculate the number of successful technology transfer cases since these floors are merely a bridge between needy partners, focusing mostly on introducing phototypes of research results rather than being a place for businesses to truly come and try or hire new technological products.
The National Program for Science – Technology Market Development until 2030 concentrates on identifying the technology demands of the market via evaluating business capacity in learning and mastering cutting edge technologies, as well as building a database on technology demands and publishing corresponding reports about this matter among businesses of key industries. It is hoped that the program can help to boost technology markets.
Experts in the field recommended addressing current legal issues related to science – technology market development. In particular, the content in Decree No.76/2018/ND-CP has not been included in the corresponding national program to materialize support mechanisms. There should be more breakthrough policies on handling properties which are the results of research using the national budget. At present, these properties belong to the State.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung said that his ministry is working with related ministries and agencies to review and improve the system of policies, legal documents as to the science – technology market, the promotion of trading science – technology items. They are trying to develop suitable mechanisms and policies to attract more businesses into the technology market and to form a mechanism for a link between this market and the normal markets of goods, services, finance, and labors.
