HCM City aims to attract more Japanese investors

Japanese businesses are becoming more interested in Ho Chi Minh City, as a matter of fact, the city has signed many cooperation programmes with Japanese localities, said the Vietnam Economic News.

Monday, November 17, 2014 16:09

Japanese businesses are becoming more interested in Ho Chi Minh City, asa matter of fact, the city has signed many cooperation programmes withJapanese localities, said the Vietnam Economic News.

Since thebeginning of this year, Ho Chi Minh City leaders have received manyJapanese business delegations and high ranking Japanese officials ontheir visits to Vietnam to explore business opportunities in the city.

Ho Chi Minh City has become the most attractive Vietnameselocality to Japanese investors. Currently, Japanese businesses have 668investment projects in the city with total capital amounting to 25billion USD. The city is expected to receive more investment fromJapanese businesses in the time to come.

Recently, SaitamaPrefecture Governor Kyoshu led a delegation to visit Ho Chi Minh City.He said that Saitama Prefecture had advantages in the field of cosmeticsproduction, safe vegetables and electronic technology. Currently, 58companies from Saitama Prefecture are operational in Vietnam and theyhighly appreciated the investment environment as well as the abundanceof human resources in Vietnam.

As many as 150 Japan's EhimePrefecture and Vietnamese businesses took part in a recent workshop inHCM City to exchange information and seek their partners. EhimePrefecture’s Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and theHo Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority(HEPZA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), under which the twosides would create the best conditions for businesses from EhimePrefecture to invest in export processing and industrial zones (EPZs andIZs) in the city.

Under the MOU, the two sides will shareinformation and promote exchanges between Vietnamese and Japanesebusinesses. Ehime Prefecture’s Association of Small and Medium-sizedEnterprises will act as a bridge between the Ehime Prefecture'sbusinesses and HCM City's businesses to seek investment opportunities inHo Chi Minh City. HEPZA will provide them with information andconsultancy and help them complete administrative procedures requiredfor investment in EPZs and IZs in Ho Chi Minh City.

According toHead of HEPZA Vu Van Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City currently has 16 EPZs andIZs with total area of 3,614ha; these EPZs and IZs have attracted 1,314investment projects with total capital of 8.83 billion USD, generatingjobs for 275,000 workers (these include 528 projects with foreign directinvestment with total capital of about 5 billion USD). Businesses basedin Ho Chi Minh City’s EPZs and IZs have earned annual import, exportvalue of nearly 4 billion USD.

Vu Van Hoa added that the Ho ChiMinh City local government offered FDI businesses treatment ofpreference and encouraged them to invest in the fields of electricity,electronics, petrochemicals, engineering and food processing.-VNA

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