Vietnam is expected to enjoy increasing interests from Japanese investors in the Vietnamese market and more of them will come to the new rising star in Asia in the coming time, said senior Japanese government officer said.
In the first five months this year alone, the number of Japanese enterprises asked the Japanese External Trade Relations Organization (JETRO) for business opportunities in Vietnam accounted for 70 per cent of the entire 2006 figure,” Kenjiro Ishiwata, Chief of the Representative Office of JETRO in Vietnam said.
Ishiwata noted that Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam grew by roughly 2.5 times from only US$437 million in 2005 to US$1.06 billion in 2006, about 10 per cent of the country’s total FDI flow of US$10.2 billion.
While by mid-2007, over US$5.17 billion of Japanese FDI in the nation had been disbursed, up 7.26 per cent compared to US$4.8 billion by the end of 2006, he added, emphasizing the evidence of Japanese investors’ commitment to the Southeast Asian market.
Japanese big electronic names like Sanyo, Matsushita, Sony, Cannon, Nidec and Fujitsu have planned production expansion after reaping great successes.
Nidec, world leading computer hardware producer, plans to pour US$1 billion into building high-tech industrial zone in Ho Chi Minh City.
The first-ever wholly foreign-invested trading company in Vietnam, Mitsui & Co. Vietnam Ltd, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Ltd, has been inaugurated in Ho Chi Minh City with total investment of US$30 million.
The company aims for total sales revenue at US$1 billion within two and three years of operation, by trading such diverse products as electronic parts, plastic resin, processed frozen shrimp, garments, steel, fertilizer and machinery, said the firm’s General Director Ken Ozeki.
According to a recent survey by JETRO, more than 75 per cent of Japanese companies investing in Vietnam select the fast growing economy as the best investment destination in Southeast Asia for the coming 5-10 years.
Vietnam ranked second, just behind India, in Asia and was listed highest among ASEAN countries, where Japanese manufacturers expect to make higher profits in 2007. (VNA)
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