Local authorities of Ho Chi Minh City were called to make it easier for Japanese enterprises to do business in the city, heard a roundtable meeting.

The December 20 event was a chance for businesspeople from Japan to voice their difficulties in the field and propose suggestions to the city’s leaders, mainly in the areas of tax, customs and transport.

Deputy Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Manh Ha told the event, organised by the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre and the Japanese Business Association of Ho Chi Minh City, that the city needs to exert every effort to deal with any obstacles met by Japanese firms.

The association’s President Yamaguchi Kimio said Ho Chi Minh City has reformed its investment and business environment and launched a number of action plans to facilitate operations by Japanese firms and foreign investors in general.

He also said he hopes the city will enhance its support to Japanese entrepreneurs, as well as better its business climate to attract more foreign investors.

There are 678 Japanese businesses operating in Ho Chi Minh City.

In the first 11 months of this year, Japan was ranked third among the countries and territories investing in Ho Chi Minh City, with 112 projects worth over 100 million USD.-VNA