Vietnam now largest investment destination for Japanese giant Aeon

Vietnam has become Aeon's largest foreign investment market, and Japan’s largest retailer plans to continue its expansion in the country, Aeon Group executive chairman Akio Yoshida said on Saturday.

At a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Japan’s Hiroshima, Yoshida said Aeon has so far channeled more than $1.18 billion into Vietnam, operating six mega-malls in big markets like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, and Binh Duong.

In addition, there are 20 others in the pipeline across the Southeast Asian country, he said, adding that his group is importing more and more Vietnamese products for distribution at its 20,000 shopping malls in Japan. Aeon will also provide scholarships to support Vietnam in terms of human resource training.

The Vietnamese PM is in Japan’s Hiroshima to attend the expanded Group of Seven (G7) Summit.

He highly appreciated Aeon’s substantial contributions to Vietnam’s retail and export sectors. He said Vietnam offers five fundamental factors to Aeon and investors in general: consumption as a growth engine; a market of more than 100 million people with a young population and growing middle-class, with Vietnam striving to become an upper middle-income country by 2030; Vietnam-Japan relations are developing; Japanese goods are preferred by Vietnamese people; and Vietnam's export products are going green in line with global consumption trends.

The PM said he would like Aeon to buy more Vietnamese goods for its supply chain, especially products that Vietnam specializes in like leather and footwear items, seafood and other foods.

Also in Hiroshima on Saturday, the Vietnamese PM met with Professor Mitsuo Ochi, rector of Hiroshima University; Matsumoko Kazuhisa, CEO of Satake Group; Yamassaka Tetsuro, chairman of Balcom Group; and executives of seven companies in the south-central region of Japan.

On behalf of the delegation, Hiroshima University’s rector discussed issues on promoting cooperation in education, human resources, smart city development, carbon neutrality, semiconductor development, agricultural digitization, livestock farming, developing standards for rice production, and responding to drought and saltwater intrusion.

Vietnam’s PM reiterated that the two countries’ governments embrace cooperation, including business activities. He said he hoped Hiroshima University would open campuses or facilities in Vietnam.

Chinh suggested companies in the south-central region of Japan continue to closely work with the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka, and ministries to roll out cooperation and investment plans. The Vietnamese government is committed to creating favorable conditions for Japanese companies to do business in Vietnam, he said.