Vietnam has been chosen among leading destinations in Southeast Asia by Japanese investors, Nakajima Takeo, Chief Representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Hanoi, has said.

Japanese businesses have deployed a number of new business models in Vietnam in 2020 in an effort to shelter from the storm of COVID-19.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has introduced a range of measures to boost the growth of support industries in a bid to promote the engagement of local companies in production chains.

Vietnam holds a number of advantages against other countries at a time when investors are looking to exit China, according to experts.

Many international manufacturers are expected to relocate their investments out of China after the epidemic ends. Vietnam is one of the destinations.

Executive Vice President of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Hironobu Kitagawa, who was once JETRO’s Chief Representative in VN, speaks about the country’s efforts to improve its international trade policies.

Vietnam is a strong candidate among the alternative investment destinations as Japanese enterprises are moving away from China due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Hirai Shinji, the Chief Representative of of JETRO in Ho Chi Minh City

Production and revenue of Japanese enterprises in Vietnam are expected to fall at 70 percent in the second quarter of 2020, the results of the latest survey showed.

About 64 percent of Japanese enterprises plan to continue expansion of their business in Vietnam due to its favourable investment environment.

In the wake of an ageing population and the narrowing domestic market, Japanese businesses are expanding to the new fields of digital technology, healthcare, the Internet of Things, and services across the ASEAN, including in Vietnam. 

The growth and openness of the economy have made Vietnam an attractive retail market for both domestic and foreign retailers.

Discharging water from the West Lake into the To Lich River swept away good micro-bacteria created by nano-bioreactor panels which were put into To Lich River two months ago, according to the Japan Environment and Trade Promotion Organisation.

Japanese investment in Vietnam is expected to grow this year, given Japan’s recent initiative to shift investment to Vietnam and other Mekong River nations, as well as free trade agreements (FTA), experts said.

Mr. Hironobu Kitagawa, Chief Representative of JETRO, talks about Japanese investment in Vietnam's agriculture sector.

VietNamNet Bridge - Japanese investors attach high importance to expanding their investments in Vietnam. However, the localization ratio of their products remains modest, at 34 percent, much lower than that in other regional countries.

VietNamNet Bridge - The salary Vietnamese receive at Japanese businesses is half of what workers in China can expect. The key lies in productivity and the shift of production to higher stages of the value chain.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam is the first market that Japanese food enterprises plan to enter in their aim to increase food exports worldwide.

VietNamNet Bridge - Convenience store chains which have been expanded in Vietnam will serve as the important channel for Japanese manufacturers.

VietNamNet Bridge – More and more local small and medium-sized enterprises are aiming to join the global supply chains of multinational corporations.