HCM CITY: Japanese businesses continue to regard Viet Nam, especially HCM City, as a potential investment destination, a forum heard yesterday in HCM City.
Speaking at the Viet Nam-Japan Investment and Trade Promotion Forum, Mukuta Satoshi, senior managing director of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), said Japanese firms had invested a total of US$37.3 billion in Viet Nam as of the end of last year, the second highest among all countries and territories investing in the country.
HCM City is the most important investment destination in Viet Nam for Japanese companies, with as many as 765 operating here, he said.
“Viet Nam is considered a gateway for Japan to ASEAN markets,” he said, adding that the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by the end of this year would enhance the role of Viet Nam as a business base in the global supply chain strategy.
Mukuta was leading a delegation of executives from 24 large Japanese companies involved in processing and manufacturing, garment and textile, transport, construction, real estate, finance, banking, insurance, retail, and other industries, who came to explore the city’s investment and business environment.
Nakajima Satoshi, the Japanese envoy in HCM City, said the visit showed Japanese investors want to invest in Viet Nam, and believed they would continue to invest in the country.
Le Thanh Liem, deputy chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the city hoped the Japanese Government and business community would continue to share management experience, transfer technology, provide ODA support, and invest in projects to develop infrastructure, human resources, support industries, and hi-tech agriculture.
“The city will always welcome, accompany and create favourable conditions for foreign investors, including Japanese, seeking long-term investment and business opportunities in the city.”
The forum would provide a chance for businesses from the two countries to understand each other’s needs, he said.
Pho Nam Phuong, director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City (ITPC), said the city has 17 industrial parks and export processing zones with a total area of 4,000ha. There are plans to establish seven more IPs with a combined area of over 2,000ha, she revealed.
Speeding up infrastructure work and attracting investment into new urban areas like Thu Thiem and Hiep Phuoc Port and others in the north-west are also in the plans, she said. Besides, the city is soliciting foreign investment in many socio-economic projects, she added.
The Department of Investment and Planning introduced key projects in which the city sought Japanese investment like the monorail line No 2 linking National Highway 50 with the Thanh Da – Binh Quoi Urban Area in Binh Thanh District, and construction of an underground mall at the Ben Thanh Central Station.
It also highlighted the city’s potential, favourable conditions and investment policies.
Organised by ITPC, the event also attracted executives from 50 Japanese firms operating in HCM City and more than 200 Vietnamese companies. It was followed by a business-to-business meeting to enable a further exchange of information and co-operation opportunities.
