DA NANG: Japanese businesses in Da Nang have urged the central city to dismantle barriers and make the investment environment at the Industrial Parks (IP) and Industrial Zones (IZs) even more conducive to attract Japanese investors and send signals about its continued commitment to enhanced business links.
The Japanese Business Association in Da Nang (JBAD), which focused on the quality of infrastructure at the IPs and IZs, bus routes, administrative reform, supportive industries, environment and logistics, explained its concerns clearly during a dialogue between this central city’s leadership and the JBAD.
“The city has made many efforts to smooth the way for Japanese businesses in the past. However, there are still certain barriers in investment policy and administrative procedures that require reforms,” the chairman of the city’s people’s committee, Huynh Duc Tho, said at the dialogue on September 9. “It’s an open and informal dialogue held in order to come up with quick solutions to any difficulties and barriers that the Japanese business community faces,” Tho said.
He said direct discussions were aimed at building Da Nang as an attractive and safe destination for investors, especially Japanese businesses. The chairman added that in the future, similar dialogues will be organised frequently to deal with any obstructions faced by the investors.
At the dialogue, the city’s investment promotion centre also debuted its Japanese Desk Da Nang team, which will be available every Wednesday to support Japanese investors by explaining administrative procedure, investment licensces and priority policies or any other adjustments. Shinichi Iwama, vice chairman of the Japanese Business Association in Da Nang (JBAD), said the newly introduced direct flight between Narita and Da Nang had formed a bridge between Japan’s cities and the central region.
“Many Japanese tourists already know Da Nang as the direct route has been operating since earlier this year. They (Japanese) are also impressed with Da Nang, thanks to a daily television show in Japan,” he said. Iwama, who is also the chairman of Daiwa Viet Nam, was still worried about the operation of shuttle bus routes connecting the city’s centre and IPs and IZs.
“We need a clear and detailed programme of bus routes as our workers should find it easy to commute between their living quarters and working place.” Shibasaki Toru, president of Mabuchi Motor Da Nang, said environment and safe traffic continued to remain a concern at the IPs and IZs.
“Local people still graze cows on the land around these IPs and leave behind waste, while traffic conditions remain unsafe. Many vendors continue to stay put along the roadside pathway in the industrial zones,” Shibasaki said. “The unclean conditions at the IPs and IZs would cast a bad impression on our new investors and partners whenever they come to visit our factory,” he added.
Koichi Akiyama, the chairman of the JBAD and general director of Japan’s Kane-M Da Nang company, said the city should rearrange land needed for Japanese small and medium-size enterprises.
