The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Ho Chi Minh City branch (VCCI-HCM City) hosted a workshop on August 19 for local businesses to learn more about how to promote trade in the Japanese market.

The VCCI-HCM City head Vo Tan Thanh highlighted the important of the event in providing updates on market information for those who wish to call for investment from Japan, which is currently Vietnam ’s third largest trade partner.

The East Asian country’s recent simplification of visa rules for Vietnamese people will facilitate investment, trade and tourism activities between the two countries, Thanh said.

Nishiyama Akia, director of Japan’s BSO investment consulting company, said that partnering with Japanese businesses will help the Vietnamese side gain more experience in broadening its business globally.

To develop a modern industry in the future, Japan needs support from other countries, including Vietnam , especially in human resources, he said, suggesting Vietnamese enterprises build up trust and prestige with Japanese partners in order to secure deals.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first seven months of 2014, Vietnam ’s export earnings from Japan hit 8.5 billion USD, while its imports were 6.9 billion USD, up 13.3 percent and 5.6 percent from the same period last year.

As of July, Vietnam had attracted 2,353 Japanese-invested projects with a combined registered capital of 36.06 billion USD, accounting for 13.9 percent of the total number and 14.9 percent of the total capital poured into Vietnam.-VNA