A forum was held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) and Japan’s IHI Corporation in Hanoi on October 8 to introduce Japanese enterprises to Vietnam’s potential for cooperation and development, aiming to forge links between the two countries’ businesses.

Speaking at the event, IHI CEO Tamotsu Saito said his group would cooperate with and support its Vietnamese partners in training while exchanging technology to serve economic development in the future.

FIA Director Do Nhat Hoang said Japan was now one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners and investors, adding that contributions from Japanese businesses via directly-invested projects and from the Japanese Government through official development assistance (ODA) helped Vietnam develop its national infrastructure system and improve its economic competitiveness.

Japanese investors consider Vietnam an attractive market and leading priority area for investment. Japan has so far implemented 2,410 projects worth 36.3 billion USD in Vietnam.

Hoang affirmed the Vietnamese Government was boosting its efforts to improve its investment climate and legal framework in order to attract more investment, especially foreign direct investment (FDI) projects.

The move was acknowledged by foreign investors, proven by the increasing number and value of foreign-invested projects in the country.

At the forum, participants discussed and shared experiences in investment cooperation.

Established in 1889, IHI is an expert in heavy industry, infrastructure development, transport, industrial manufacturing and power plant construction, and provides consultancy services in these fields.

The group invested in several key projects in Vietnam, such as Nhat Tan (Hanoi) and Binh (Hai Phong) bridges, and the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City railway system upgrade.-VNA