The trend for Japanese enterprises to shift production to Asia, including Vietnam , and to purchase Vietnamese goods was cited as one of the factors facilitating bilateral economic, trade and investment relations.

Nguyen The Hung, Vice Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Ho Chi Minh City chapter, made this statement at a Vietnam-Japan trade exchange, held in HCM City on March 2.

Since the beginning of the year, many Japanese enterprises have visited HCM to seek investment and business opportunities, he said.

In particular, a number of Japanese small and medium enterprises expressed their attention to cooperate with local firms in the form of joint ventures or wholly foreign investment, Hung added.

According to the city’s Planning and Investment Department, in 2011 HCM City attracted 439 projects worth 2.8 billion USD. Of the total, Japan had 61 projects, valued at 154.8 million USD.-VNA