It's Time for Japanese Investors to Enter Vietnam, PM Abe

Japanese investors should take advantage of opportunities in Vietnam, an emerging country with great potential for economic development, said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Vietnam-Japan Economic Cooperation Conference held in Hanoi on November 20.

 

Being a WTO member, Vietnam has made commitments to open its doors to foreign firms, a very favorable condition for Japanese businesses, Abe said, emphasizing that the business environment has now much improved with the implementation of revised laws of enterprises and common investment.

 

The Japanese leader urged investors from his country to pour money into key projects in Vietnam namely the two involving building the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City railway and highway and infrastructure development of Hoa Lac hi-tech zone.

 

He also called for close coordination between governments, concerned agencies and business circles to accelerate the implementation pace of the Joint Committee of Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative II, aiming for stronger Japanese investment into the country.

 

Speaking at the conference, Vice Chairman of Nippon Keidanren Mr. Myyahara suggested that Vietnam should further enhance free trade liberalization for foreign investors in some areas of service and transport and particularly offer a more equal playing field for them.

 

He also noted that intellectual rights protection is one of the top concerns of Japanese companies in Vietnam, explaining that this will not only help benefit foreign investors but also raise competitiveness of domestic ones.

 

Japanese businesses announced that they will invest a total of JPY85 billion ($721 million) in Vietnam's electronic and cement industries in the coming year at a press conference in Hanoi on November 19.

 

On the same day, the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and three Japanese partners, namely Mitsui Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) promoting investment in Hoa Lac hi-tech zone, part of Japan’s strategy of deeper penetration into hi-tech industries in the Southeast-Asian market.

 

As of October 20, 2006, Japan had pumped over US$7.1 billion into 724 projects in Vietnam, ranking the third among countries and territories worldwide investing in Vietnam.