A factory owned by a Japanese company MTEX Vietnam in HCM City. Japanese firms are expanding investment in various sectors in Vietnam.(Photo courtesy of sggp.org.vn) HCM City (VNS/VNA)- Japanese enterprises are expanding investment in sectors that are seento have growth potential in Vietnam, according to experts.
Japanese company Nikkiso Vietnam MFG Co.,Ltd. last monthdecided to pour an additional 3 million USD into its medical equipment factory at the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in Ho Chi Minh City.
The company said the money would be used to install more machinery andequipment to increase the production of blood tubing lines used forhaemodialysis to 24 million a year.
Nikkiso Co., Ltd, the parent company, also has a factory to produce the linesin Thailand, but it decided to increase production in HCM City.
Many Japanese supporting-industry projects have been licensed this year in manylocalities in the south, including large ones such as Furukawa AutomativeSystems in Vinh Long (48.8million USD) to produceelectric wires for cars.
In Dong Nai province, SMC Manufacturing(Vietnam) Co., Ltd. atthe Long Duc IndustrialPark, which produces automatic devices for offices, factories and warehouses, hasincreased its investment by 70 million USD.
Lixil Global Manufacturing Vietnam Co., Ltd has registered to increase itscapital by 25 million USD,making it the largest Japanese company in the province.
Masahiko Makata, CEO of Long Duc Investment Co., Ltd., which builds the seven-year-old park’s infrastructure,said almost all the space has been leased out.
Many Japanese companies want to continue investing and the company seeks toexpand the park in the second phase.
According to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO),of 30 companies selected by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industryfrom 124 applicants to receive support to expand in Southeast Asia, 15 choseVietnam to invest and expand production.
This was a testimony to Vietnam’s attractiveness, said Takeo Nakajima, Chief Representative of JETRO in Hanoi. In the long term, they also aim to take advantage of theopportunities arising from the country’s free trade agreements.
Takeo said the process of diversifying value chains by the Japanese enterprisesbegan a while ago, and the COVID-19 pandemic requires firms to diversifyproduction to two to three destinations to avoid supply chain disruptionsthough production costs might rise as a result.
Japanese firms established supply chains in China and the Republic of Korea, and expanded inrecent years to Southeast Asia, which is an important investment destination,he said.
The Japanese Government has earmarked 70 billion yen (653 million USD) to support firms thatdiversify their supply chain out of China.
Experts said this would help boost investment by Japanese firms in Vietnam.
Japanese investments are expected to flow into sectors like medical equipment,agricultural and food processing, agriculture, education, and manufacturing,they said./.
VNA
