So far this year, the municipal People’s Committee and local enterprises have welcomed many delegations of senior officials from Japan including head of Kansai region’s Economy, Trade and Industry Department, Toshinori Kobayashi; Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Koya Nishikawa; and Environment Minister Yoshio Mochizuki, who came to the city to explore business cooperation opportunities.

Japanese investors are currently operating 668 projects with total registered capital of 25 billion USD, and these figures are predicted to grow in the coming time. According to a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Promotion Organisation (JETRO), most of surveyed Japanese enterprises said they would continue investing and expanding their businesses in Vietnam as a whole, and in HCM City in particular.

Representatives of the Japanese companies also affirmed that in addition to expanding export markets, Japanese enterprises will speed up investment in supporting industries (SI) with the trend of shifting their investment flow from China to Vietnam . 

In their recent market survey in HCM City , representatives of Japan ’s Saitama Prefecture also proposed some potential areas of bilateral cooperation such as cosmetics production, safe vegetables and electronics, in which Vietnam has a competitive advantage. 

According to a cooperative agreement signed with Ehime Prefecture , the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza) has arranged 300 hectares of land in Linh Trung Processing Zone and Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone for businesses from Ehime Prefecture , while asking relevant agencies to boost administrative procedure reform as a way to attract investments from Ehime’s companies.

The growing interest of Japanese investors in HCM City’s economy is definitely a positive sign for domestic enterprises operating in the locality, said a Hepza official, adding that it is also a reflection of the city’s improved business environment, opening up cooperative opportunities with one of the world’s leading economies