The Hanoitimes - The Ministry of Science and Technology MST is moving ahead with the plan to open technology product trading floors after 2015.

Scientists and businesses keep complaining that there is still no hi-tech market in Vietnam which can connect them as the sellers and buyers. However, things would be improved since a lot of technology trading floors at the national level would become operational. They would help push up the trade of domestic and international high-technology products and solutions.

Dr Le Van Tri, President and CEO of the Biology Joint Stock Company, said it always takes him a lot of time to look for technology products.

“I have to spend many long months to search for information, learn about the products,” he said. “You may mistakenly buy refused or backward technology products.”

Nguyen Tang Cuong, Director of the Quang Trung Mechanical Engineering Enterprise in Ninh Binh province, also said that when seeking to buy technology products, the buyers should learn thoroughly about the manufacturers, suppliers and update technology news. However, in most cases, the buyers still need the consultancy of professional “brokers” who are keen o­n technique.

Also according to Cuong, the pay for the brokers is really high which pushes up the production cost of manufacturers. Therefore, Cuong wishes to be able to look for the products he wants o­n trading floors to be put under the management of competent agencies, where all transactions can be carried out in a transparency and sellers take responsibility for their products available o­n the floors.

Since 2005, MIC has periodically been organizing technology trade fair (Techmarts), to create a market where equipment and technologies can be sold and bought.

Some virtual techmart trade floors have also formed up and become operational. However, the ministry believes that Vietnam still needs the trading floors with regularly transactions, the o­nes which are professional and power enough to help push up technology trade transactions.

Ta Ba Hung, a senior official of MIC, said that the current demand for renovating technologies and using new equipment has become increasingly high from enterprises. The majority of them still have been using backward technologies in their production lines, while they understand that with the old machines and fuel waste equipment, their products would be less competitive in the market.

Hung said in many cases, businesses would buy any new technologies which are newer than their currently used technologies. Lacking information, they do not know that the technologies they buy have also become out of date already.

The strongest point of technology product trading floors is that with the national database about science and technology achievements in the world, independent experts would effectively support both the sellers and buyers to find the right partners. While sellers can sell products at reasonable prices, buyers would be able to find the most suitable products for them.

Meanwhile, Dr Tran Minh Tri from the Vietnam Institute of Tropical Technology and Environment Protection VITTEP, said VITTEP, an inventor, does know where it can look for buyers. In principle, products can be displayed at Techmart, but the trade fair gathers o­nly o­nce a year.

“Trading floors can help solve our problem,” he said.

More than 1200 contracts and memorandum of understanding (MOUs), and thousands transactions were made at the four-day 2012 Techmart.

Some pilot trading floors have been set up, including the o­ne run by the National Science and Technology Information Agency at No. 24 Ly Thuong Kiet in HCM City, the o­ne run by the Science and Technology Information Center at No. 79 Truong Dinh in Hanoi.

The Hai Phong and Quang Ninh provincial science and technology departments have also put two trading floors into operation recently.

MIC has said it plans to set up three national trading floors in HCM City, Hanoi and Da Nang with each of them costing hundreds of billions of dong.