A representative of JCCH speaks at the roundtable between HCMC’s government and JCCH on December 17 in the city

Japanese investors are interested in the property market in Vietnam and especially HCMC. They are willing to invest whenever possible, but the city’s complicated and time-consuming investment procedures have hindered them, he told the local media on the sidelines of a roundtable between the municipal government and Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in HCMC (JCCH), held on December 17 in the city.

Nakagawa Motohisa, head of the Law and Labor Committee at the JCCH, said that JCCH has received multiple complaints from Japanese property investors over being required to complete scores of procedures to execute their projects, while guidance on completing these procedures remained unclear.

Also, some investors had applied for a building permit and received basic design approval, but then, their projects were rescheduled due to adjustments in zoning plans. As a result, they suffered heavy financial losses, he added.

JCCH had earlier raised this issue at the roundtable. The city’s representative took note of it and told competent agencies to issue instructions and address the obstacles for investors.

The Japanese representative believed that Japanese investment in the city’s property sector will increase in the coming years if problems related to investment procedures are resolved.

The roundtable between the city’s administration and JCCH is an annual event that has been held over the past 18 years.

It demonstrates the southern hub’s determination to remove obstacles faced by Japanese enterprises and other foreign businesses and to improve the city’s investment climate, according to the city’s government.

Speaking at the event, Cao Thi Phi Van, deputy director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Center of HCMC, stated that 40 questions raised by Japanese firms had been addressed during meetings prior to the roundtable, including problems related to taxes and customs.

At the roundtable, other issues involving the environment and living conditions as well as the law and labor were brought up for discussion. SGT

Le Hoang

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