Japanese investors continue to pour cash into VN market
Japanese investors continue to pour cash into VN market
Viet Nam continues to be an attractive destination for Japanese investors and the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau is showing strong pulling power for drawing foreign dollars into the country.
Japan's Consul General in HCM City Hida Harumitsu was addressing a conference in Ba Ria – Vung Tau as part of celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of Viet Nam-Japan diplomatic ties yesterday, saying the number of Japanese investors coming to the country has been rising steadily during recent years.
The event aimed to commemorate the diplomatic anniversary as well as to discuss the status of Japanese investment in Viet Nam. It also highlighted Ba Ria – Vung Tau as an area prioritised for Japanese foreign investment.
The province is a preferred location for Japanese investment thanks to its developed oil and gas sector, Thi Vai – Cai Mep deap seaport and the planned Long Thanh International Airport.
Last year, Japan ranked top in terms of foreign direct investment into Viet Nam, with US$5.1 billion, and this position remained unchanged in the first half of this year with $4 billion, Harumitsu said.
Ba Ria – Vung Tau is currently home to 18 Japanese-funded projects, capitalised at $1.7 billion, of those 12 are currently operational, local authorities said.
They said that the province has closely co-operated with Japanese organisations such as the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the Japanese Business Association in HCM City to develop strategies and policies to make lure investors.
The local body said it would further petition the Government to provide more incentives to support industries and to build specialised industrial zones aimed at Japanese investors.
It also hopes to gain support in improving its investment climate by upgrading its infrastructure to meet the potential investor's requirements.
Previously, the provincial authorities signed a memorandum of understanding on co-operation with Kawasaki City and approved the establishment of the Kawasaki industrial zone.
A further memorandum approved the opening of a representative office in Japan to promote investment for the province's support industries.
The sectors in need of investment are metalworking, mechanical processing, plastic component production, electrical and electronic components and software for other industries.
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