Vietnam seeks more Japanese investment in infrastructure, energy

Vietnam wishes to see Japanese firms expand their investments in the sectors of infrastructure, energy, support industries, high-quality farming, IT, smart urban development and finance-banking, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told a Tuesday conference in Hanoi.

The high-level Vietnam-Japan economic conference was held to explore new possibilities for the bilateral relations toward the future. It was co-organized by Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment, Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), and the organizing committee for the 50th anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic relationship.

The Vietnamese PM said the Vietnam-Japan friendship and cooperation ties have been unceasingly reinforced and developing in various fields.

The two countries’ bilateral trade reached nearly $50 billion last year, with Japan being the fourth largest trading partner of Vietnam, which exported nearly $25 billion worth of goods and services to Japan, according to official statistics.

The Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative, a special cooperation mechanism between the two governments, has been carried out in eight phases over 20 years, generating numerous encouraging results in improving Vietnam’s investment climate and competitiveness.

PM Chinh said the Southeast Asian country highly values the determination, seriousness, and effectiveness of Japanese investors, and also understands their sincerity, trust, and commitment. He stressed Vietnam appreciates the Japanese government and enterprises’ contributions to the country's development achievements.

He added that the bilateral cooperation potential remains diverse and huge, calling on FDI businesses, including Japanese ones, to increase training in high-quality human resources, apply advanced management science, and step up research, development, and innovation, thereby turning Vietnam into a center in regional and global value chains.

The Vietnamese government will always stand side by side with and create the best possible conditions for Japanese investors to make successful, sustainable, and long-term investments in the country, the PM highlighted.

Japan has become the biggest ODA provider for Vietnam with more than 2.7 trillion yen ($19.8 billion) in loans, nearly 100 billion yen in non-refundable aid, and 180 billion yen for technical cooperation, substantially contributing to large-scale infrastructure projects, creating momentum for sustainable socio-economic development, and helping with the transfer of advanced technology and human resources training in Vietnam, according to reports from the high-level conference.

Also Tuesday, Vietnam’s PM received the Japanese delegation who are attending the Hanoi conference.

PM Chinh noted that Vietnam is making efforts to beef up production, business, and infrastructure investment, hence its big need for resources serving development.

He suggested the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) work closely with Vietnamese competent agencies to come up with more effective cooperation methods

Chinh encouraged Japanese firms to expand their investments in Vietnam’s infrastructure, energy, support industries, high-quality farming, IT, smart urban development, finance-banking, and innovation, among other sectors.

The PM proposed the Japanese side boost policy dialog with Vietnam to share information and experience in completing laws for business climate improvement; promote Vietnam’s potential for investment and partnerships with Japanese enterprises; and help the Southeast Asian nation develop its support industries, innovation, and other areas.