(VOV) – Japanese businesses want to invest further in Vietnam, said Takahashi Kyohei, co-chairman of the Japan-Vietnam Economic Committee, at the recent signing ceremony of the fifth phase of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative.
He said Vietnam will become the main link of ASEAN’s supply chain by 2015 when the ASEAN Economic Community is established. Japan’s investment in Vietnam has grown rapidly in the past two years as proven by an increase of 15 percent in the first half of 2013 compared to the same period last year, and it is expected to rise further in the coming years.
JETRO Chief Representative Hirokazu Yamaoka said such growth rate has not yet met Japanese businesses’ aspirations as they all think that Vietnam will likely replace China and Thailand as Japan’s major base.
Takhahashi added that of foreign-invested projects in Vietnam, nearly half have come from Japanese businesses who are always in the lead of capitalization.
A connectivity model between the state and private sectors
The action plan of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative aims to promote investment in the distribution and retail networks, non-banking activities, food safety and hygiene, processed food exports, privately funded infrastructure, and automobile production and support industry.
Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said the initiative’s fifth phase will last 18 months from July 2013 to December 2014. It focuses on 13 issues related to laws and policies, taxation, customs, human resource training, intellectual property, environment, food safety, banking, services, infrastructure development, and macroeconomic stablisation. The Vietnamese Government has taken drastic measures to improve the investment environment for all concerned parties.
The Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative is considered a successful model for connecting between the state and private sectors. Minister Vinh said the model has enabled Japanese businesses in particular and the business community in general to get involved in government policy making.
Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Tanizaki Yasuaki said the first four phases of the initiative have made it possible for both sides to solve many problems of mutual concern and gradually improve the investment environment in Vietnam.
Japan has set up 13 working groups to coordinate with relevant Vietnamese agencies during the fifth phase. Ambassador Yasuaki expressed his hope that any remaining snags will be ironed out to ensure successful implementation of the action plan.
A policy dialogue forum
The Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative was launched in 2003 as a forum for policy dialogue between Japanese investors and Vietnam’s relevant ministries and agencies to build an open and transparent investment environment in Vietnam.
85 percent of 286 items mentioned in the action plan have been deployed and almost completed. The fifth phase of the initiative is a key pillar in Vietnam’s 2020 industrialisation strategy and its vision to 2030.
Ambassador Yasuaki Nanizaki reiterated Japan’s commitment to providing practical support and invaluable technology transfers.
On the constant growth of the Vietnam-Japan relations, he highlighted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s first overseas trip to Vietnam last October and Japan’s recent decision to grant US$1 billion in official development assistance (ODA) to its Southeast Asian partner.
Đăng ký: VietNam News