Japanese firms may get dedicated zones

During a seminar between Vietnamese businesses and their counterparts from Japan’s Aichi Province in Ha Noi on Monday (11th Jul), Hoang spoke highly of the quality of projects carried out by Japanese investors.

Hoang said he hoped that not only Japan’s major corporations but also small and medium-sized enterprises, especially those operating in support industries, would come to Vietnam.

The Vietnamese Government and the ministry were studying proposals to adjust the law to better assist investors in support industries, he said.

Tsujio Yoshifumi, an advisor with the Japan International Co-operation Agency, said Japanese investors urged the Vietnamese Government to improve roads and address its labor shortage.

In the first half of this year, Japanese firms invested $303 million in 86 new projects in Vietnam, lifting the number of Japanese projects in the country to 1,552 worth $21.36 billion.

Japan ranks fourth among countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Currently, 80 businesses from Aichi Province, one of the largest economic and industrial centers in central Japan, have invested in Vietnam. Most have shown effective performances and several have expanded across the country.

Vietnam’s monetary policies and infrastructure for foreign-invested enterprises were among topics at the seminar, which aimed to help businesses exchange experiences and find trade partners and solutions to difficulties in investment and business.

The event was jointly co-organized by the agency and the Aichi Support Desk. The desk was established in 2009 under a memorandum of understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and Aichi’s provincial authorities. It assists the Aichi business community to obtain updated information about Vietnam’s socio-economic situation and policies.