More and more Japanese investors will flock into Vietnam to seek for investment opportunities in the coming time, especially in high tech and information technology sectors, said a senior Japanese government official.
Iwao Matsuda, state minister in charge of science and technology policy, made the statement at ceremony to sign a cooperation agreement on hi-tech and information technology yesterday in Hanoi.
The event, which was jointly held by the Vietnam Ministry of Information & Technology and Japanese Embassy in the country, was launched within the framework of the on-going Vietnam-Japan Business Forum (VJBF).
The agreement focuses on IT expert exchange and technology transfer, which is aimed to serve as a firm foundation to accelerate the bilateral cooperation in this field.
For the past few years, the two countries have gained remarkable achievements in science and technology cooperation. Japan’s projects on radiation safety, intellectual property development, foodstuff processing and atomic power and medicine researches have made great contributions to Vietnam’s socio-economic development.
The official also added that the Japanese government was ready to engage in comprehensive economic cooperation with Vietnam.
According to Ichikawa Kioshiro, senior expert on foreign investment of the Vietnamese Planning and Investment Ministry, Vietnam is the fourth attractive destination for Japanese investors, behind China, Indonesia and Thailand due to its socio-political stability, high-quality and intensive labor force.
With favorable advantages for economic development such as the lowest production costs in Asia, political stability and the country’s coming WTO entry, Vietnam is seen as a top choice by Japanese companies to move their production from China to a third country in the coming time, he noted.
However he cited, many Japanese firms still hesitate to enter Vietnam or expand investment in the country due to its opaque and incomplete legal system, particularly cumbersome licensing procedures, suggesting that Vietnam should hurry to handle these to lure more foreign investors.
Japan has become one of Vietnam's leading economic and trade partners in recent years, and the third biggest foreign investor. It is now the largest official development assistance (ODA) supplier for Vietnam.
It now has 654 operational projects in Vietnam with a combined registered capital of US$6.73 billion, becoming the third largest investor in the country just behind Taiwan and Singapore.
Young People, Youth
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