Mekong Delta of Vietnam attracts Japanese investment

Thứ Hai, 05/11/2018, 15:24

PSNews – 120 CEO from Japanese firms and over 30 representatives of Japanese companies operating in Vietnam gathered at the Japan-Mekong Business Cooperation Forum in Can Tho city on November 3, with the aim of seeking for more business opportunities in Mekong Delta.

The Japan – Mekong Business Cooperation Forum was jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in Ho Chi Minh City, which gathered 400 delegates representing government agencies and localities of the two countries, Japanese trade promotion organizations, economic experts, Vietnamese companies, and 120 CEOs from Japanese firms.

Speaking at the forum, former State President Truong Tan Sang thanked Japanese investors for participating at this important event while affirming the significance of the event in promoting the economic and trade cooperation between Japan and Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

He also emphasized that Japan's investment in the Mekong Delta region remains limited despite the huge cooperation potential between the two sides. Therefore, he wishes that Japanese investors will pay more attention to this region.   

Additionally, he said that leaders of Mekong Delta localities should create favorable conditions for Japanese investors to implement effective and win-win cooperation in the context that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is going to take effect by the end of December with 11 member countries, including Japan and Vietnam.

Currently, cooperation areas between the two sides include the supply of high-quality farm produce for the Japanese market, new markets for Japanese and Mekong Delta travel agencies, and financial, credit, delivery, medical checkup and treatment, education and vocational training services, among others.

In particular, as a leading country in developing adaptive agriculture to climate change, a representative of VCCI hoped that Japan’s experience will effectively serve the Mekong Delta region which is in need of an agricultural sector with climate-adaptive technologies, he said.

As shown in VCCI’s statistics, as of the end of October 2018, the Mekong Delta had attracted 169 FDI projects from Japan with a combined registered capital of US$2.21 billion, accounting for 10.5% of the whole region’s total FDI inflow.
By Linh Bui