The Second Wave Is Starting

 

 

Japan has so far invested some US$40 billion in foreign countries and territories. Over the last three years, Japan’s overseas investment, in general, has been decreasing. Specifically, the investment in 2004 was 6.3 percent less than 2003. However, investment from Japan to Asia has been increasing, with the investment in 2004 increasing by 39.5 percent over 2003.

 

 

Yes, there is. The first wave of Japanese investment in Vietnam was in 1993 or 1994 but it was not very successful because of some reasons. One of the reasons was that the Vietnamese investment environment was not good or rather bad at that time. The financial crisis in Asia in 1997 was another reason for this unsuccessful investment. We, and Japanese businessmen now feel that the second wave of Japanese investment in Vietnam is starting. It is very important for the Vietnamese Government to grasp at this opportunity to make this trend become reality.

 

Yes, I do. I see that the Vietnamese investment environment is much better than it was three years ago when I took my office here in Vietnam. Immediately after I arrived here in Vietnam in early November 2002, I worked with the Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment, Vo Hong Phuc, to find ways to improve the Vietnamese investment climate and to attract more investment to Vietnam. We together worked out the Japan-Vietnam Joint Initiative that has been very successful. Three years after that, we together agreed upon a number of issues and a number of problems Vietnam should address to improve its investment environment, and we saw that almost all points in this joint initiative have been very well implemented by the Vietnamese Government.

 

We are happy to see that all the commitments made by the Vietnamese Government have been successfully carried out. So I can say that the investment environment in Vietnam is on a par with that in other countries in the region like Thailand and China. Even some aspects of the investment environment in Vietnam are better than those in other countries and territories. So I would like to congratulate the Vietnamese Government on its success.

 

 

Japanese businesses especially privately owned ones are actively searching for a better destination for investment. Most of Japanese investment to the outside world has gone to China. But now many Japanese businesses have recognized risks associated with investment in China and therefore they are looking for another destination for doing business. Vietnam is now considered the number-one destination but it may take some more time for Japanese capital (investment) to come to Vietnam. Over the last year, a series of Japanese companies invested in Vietnam.

 

The situation has changed rather dramatically inside and outside Vietnam and I think that Japan’s overseas investment will increase considerably in coming months and coming years. It is most important for Vietnam, for the Vietnamese Government, to make more efforts, to do more PA (public relations) to let private Japanese businesses know about Vietnam. The information about Vietnam remains limited and insufficient. The situation in Vietnam is changing rapidly so providing Japanese business people with the latest information about Vietnam’s investment environment to make them think of going to Vietnam for investment is very important.

 

I would like to commend the Vietnamese Government on its decision to send the Minister of Planning and Investment to Japan. The minister is going to Japan next week for a few days. He will be having direct contacts with businesspeople in Japan to provide them with more information about the Vietnamese investment environment, to let them know how the Vietnamese investment environment has improved, and to invite and persuade them to go to Vietnam. I think that kind of action is very recommendable and I would like the Vietnamese Government to do more efforts in advance. I hope that many more Japanese companies will come to Vietnam.