Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Hong Nam speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) In his remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Hong Nam told participants about Vietnam’s efforts to further integrate into the global economy, its socio-economic achievements in the recent past, and, most notably, its curbing of the spread of COVID-19.
He underlined that Vietnam’s economy is again posting positive growth now that the pandemic has been largely brought under control, making it an attractive destination for FDI.
FDI inflows have been on the rise since its second wave of COVID-19 was repelled. Figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that, as of November 20, FDI had totalled 26.4 billion USD, of which over 2.1 billion USD was from Japan.
Of particular note, half of the 30 firms receiving assistance from the Japanese Government to move facilities to Southeast Asia have selected Vietnam as the destination, demonstrating their trust in the prospects for the local economy.
The ambassador underlined that Vietnam-Japan trade is supplementary and fair. Despite the pandemic, two-way trade declined only slightly in the first 11 months of the year, to 35.9 billion USD. Vietnam shipped items worth 17.3 billion USD, down 6.5 percent, while Japan posted export revenue of 18.6 billion to Vietnam, up 4.8 percent.
Nam took the occasion to call upon Japanese businesses to invest in Vietnam, especially in fields the country has prioritised, such as electronics, agro-fishery processing, environmental technology and energy saving, agricultural machinery, shipbuilding, and automobiles and spare parts.
The Vietnamese Government is paying attention to creating a suitable legal framework for the country’s market mechanism and conditions that are on par with commitments in integration and international practice. It is exerting every effort to build the foundational factors for a transparent and favourable investment and business climate, and stabilising its macro-economy in a bid to lure more investment from abroad and from Japan in particular, he added.
FEC President Matsuzawa Ken voiced his hope that the forum will help Japanese companies understand more about Vietnam’s business and investment climate, thereby strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation in economy, trade, and investment./.
