Jupiter Pacific officially opened in Vietnam in 1997, as a joint venture with Vietnam’s Pacific Airlines. After ten years of operation with a professional and considerate serving style, Jupiter Pacific Forwarding Joint Venture Company has gained important achievements. In 2006, company profit reached more than US$10 million, increasing 18.24 per cent on year. Vietnam Business Forum’s reporter Thanh Hung interviewed Mr Yutaka Kawasaki, general director of Jupiter Pacific about these outstanding achievements and his opinions about Vietnam’s current investment environment.
Could you please talk about some outstanding achievements of your company after ten years of operation in Vietnam?
Jupiter Pacific was given operation license by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) as a joint venture between Jupiter Global and Pacific Airlines on December 19, 1997. In 2002, Jupiter Pacific became an official member of IATA Forwarding Association, founded another branch in Hanoi and organised the first B747F flight from Hanoi to Los Angeles, California, the U.S. In 2003, the company launched the B747F flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Dallas, Texas, the U.S. In 2004, we won the Million Dollar prize from China Airlines for leading goods transport services.
In 2005, we expanded operation to the north by opening an office in Hai Phong Province. We were also granted the prize Saigon Times Top 40 Award by Saigon Times Group and Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment this year.
The operation achievement of Jupiter Pacific is shown by the company’s consecutive growth. The firm gained over US$6.8 million profit in 2002, US$7.4 million in 2003, US$8.3 million in 2004, US$8.6 million in 2005, and US$10.2 million in 2006, rising over 18 per cent on year.
Which advantages and difficulties has Jupiter Pacific faced as a forwarding agent in Vietnam?
With more than ten years of operation in Vietnam, we have accumulated a lot of experience. The company has also built a large and stable customer base, especially foreign investors, with long-term, developed routes. Jupiter Pacific is a joint venture company, so we can combine the strong points of each side in human resources, management and administration.
In terms of difficulties, we face challenges common for all enterprises in the transport sector. The country’s rapid economic growth and the development of forwarding and transport services have created severe competition. While Vietnam’s forwarding industry has seen high growth, the supply of human resources, especially highly qualified workers, is still limited. To my knowledge, Vietnam does not have a dedicated school or university training human resource for this industry.
In your opinion, what should Vietnam do to create a more attractive investment environment, especially for Japanese investors?
In general, we are very pleased about the investment environment in Vietnam at present. The achievements of Jupiter Pacific over the past time are proof of the effective investment environment. I think the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) will create more cooperation opportunities and prospects for businesses of the two countries. In addition, I think Vietnam should speed up infrastructure improvement, especially transport infrastructure, to meet the transport demand of businesses and for national economic development. Aside from that, as I mentioned, one limitation of Vietnam’s forwarding sector at present is human resources, especially highly qualified workers. I think Vietnam should train human resources for the industry, to satisfy the development demand of the sector.
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