Japanese firms consider Vietnam key investment destination

Hanoi (VNA) – About 70 percent of Japanese investors in Vietnam want to continue investing or expand their investments, meaning Vietnam is an important destination for them, according to a representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

JETRO Chief Representative in Ho Chi Minh City Takimoto Koji shared the figure in an interview with Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) newspaper.

In 2017, Japan was the biggest foreign direct investor of Vietnam, posting a record figure of 9.11 billion USD. In the first 11 months of 2018, the country kept its top spot with nearly 8 billion USD, more than a quarter of the total foreign capital poured into Vietnam during the period.

According to Takimoto, 65.1 percent of the Japanese businesses in Vietnam are profitable.

He said Japanese goods have an increasing presence in the Vietnamese market, with Japanese firms’ foreign expansion receiving strong support from their government and organisations like JETRO. When these companies study the Vietnamese market, they aim to introduce high quality products and seek business partners and sale agencies. They also look for Vietnamese goods that suit Japanese consumers’ taste.

The JETRO Chief Representative said Japanese investors value Vietnam for its clear policies, stable legal affairs and its increasingly large workforce of trained youths. Despite such advantages, local labours’ average wage is ranked sixth in Southeast Asia.    

He quoted Japanese investors as saying they have been assisted by local authorities in administrative procedures, including those for taxation and customs clearance. Complete infrastructure and waste treatment and power systems in Vietnam’s industrial parks have helped them make quick investment decisions.

Lauding the economic growth potential of Vietnam, Takimoto affirmed that Japan wants to enhance investment and business cooperation with the host country.

He said that Japanese firms intend to form win-win partnerships with Vietnamese peers, expecting to find capable local companies to become their long-term partners and join their global production-manufacturing supply chains.-VNA