Japanese businesses see promise in Vietnam

Thứ Hai, 12/03/2018, 21:09

Economics, trade, and investment between Vietnam and Japan have seen constant developments over recent years with Japan having always been one of Vietnam’s most important partners, has said Vietnam Chamber of Commerce of Industry (VCCI) Vice President Hoang Quang Phong.

The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) co-hosted a Vietnam-Japan economic dialogue in Hanoi on March 12.

Last year, Japan was the nation’s largest investor with US$9.11 billion, accounting for 25.4% of total investment capital, while the two-way trade turnover reached more than US$33.4 billion.

Japan plays an important role in diversifying the structure of Vietnam's export products by reducing the export of raw materials and increasing manufactured and processed products with higher values. At present, Vietnam’s localization rate of component materials is 27.9%, much lower than the average levels in the region and ASEAN.

According to a recent survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Vietnam has placed second among the countries that capture investments from Japanese businesses. The manufacturing sector is a typical case of Vietnam-Japan successful cooperation in recent years with the strong emergence of big names such as Toyota, Honda, Canon and Panasonic.

A JCCI representative said there are bright prospects for cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in such fields as agriculture, tourism, training and human resource development, and transport. Importantly, with its GDP of over US$200 billion, Vietnam is among the 6 fastest growing retail markets.

Vietnam’s advantages such as its large, youthful workforce and high competitive capacity in terms of prices, will lead the country to become a potential market and a good destination for Japanese investors in the time ahead.

At the discussions, Japanese businesses highlighted the prospects for investment in Vietnam, noting that the event offered an opportunity for Japanese businesses to learn about a variety of primary quality Vietnamese products which meet the

The participants said to take full advantage of the newly-signed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and attract more waves of investment from Japan, Vietnam needs to continue boosting stronger administrative reforms, enhance the competitive capability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), improve labour productivity, and fully realize its commitments to hold investors’ trust.

VOV