VINACHEM

On its agenda was the need for a strong domestic compliance system and components certification and sharing of practices deployed in other nations, including the US.

The fire and building materials industry was held up as an example to illustrate how such a system would work.

The country's economic development has spurred a rising demand for use of fire-resistant and building materials and equipment for civil construction and public works, said Bui Van Quyen, head of the Ministry of Science and Technology Office in HCM City. Designers, manufacturers and managers were laying great stress on the safety of these materials, he added.

Ng Soon Lee, UL's commercial director for ASEAN, said the conference was organised to meet the increasing demand for global certifications from Vietnamese companies.

"This is a clear indication that local companies are looking at global markets and we believe that providing necessary information to such companies would be timely," he said.

JC Sekar, UL's managing director for ASEAN, said: "The success of a country in the global market comes not just from being a successful exporter. The more important thing is to create a strong domestic compliance eco-system that serves as an incubator for building successful local Vietnamese enterprises that can eventually not only stand on their own strength but also expand overseas."

He said this was much more relevant today in the context of a volatile global environment and the fact that 75 per cent of Viet Nam's GDP comes from of goods and services exports.

UL organised the conference in co-ordination with the Directorate for Standards and Quality, Quality Assurance and Testing Centre 3, and the national Fire Department.

(Source: VNS)