PM calls on Japanese firms to invest in VN

The Vietnamese PM made the remarks at the Viet Nam-Japan Investment Promotion Conference in Tokyo on October 10.

The event, themed "New opportunities and visions in foreign investment in Viet Nam", was co-organized by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), gathering more than 1,200 Japanese and Vietnamese businesspersons.

PM Phuc highlighted the finely growing Viet Nam-Japan relations across all spheres, stating that the senior leaders of the two sides have strategic trust and regularly exchange mutual visits. 

Japan is the largest provider of official development assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam, while ranking second in terms of its foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Southeast Asian nation with over US$52 billion, and fourth concerning trade ties with more than US$33 billion, he said. In 2017, Japan was the largest investor in Viet Nam with a total registered capital of over US$9 billion. In the first eight months of 2018, Japanese firms went on to top the FDI inflow into Viet Nam with around US$7 billion, accounting for 28.8% of the total figure.

The PM voiced his belief that participants at the conference would put forward new ideas and recommendations to strengthen cooperation between the two countries, especially the solutions and ways to turn those ideas into specific investment plans. 

In his speech, JETRO President Hiroyuki Ishige noted that after Viet Nam's investment promotion conference in Japan last year, Japan's investment flow poured into Viet Nam has reported a record increase. 

Hailing it as just a starting point, he urged Viet Nam to continue improving its business and investment environment, expressing his hopes that through this year's conference, bilateral relations and cooperation would be elevated to new heights. 

At the conference, as many as 19 documents, including investment permits and cooperation agreements, were signed and exchanged between the two sides, increasing the total value of  permits and agreements on investment cooperation reached during PM Phuc's Japan visit to approximately US$10 billion.