“Vietnam keeps its doors wide open to welcome Japanese investors to do long-term business in the country,” Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong said.

 

He assured the participating investors that they would receive the most favourable conditions when establishing and running businesses in Vietnam , and that they are particularly encouraged to enter into the fields of mechanical engineering, technology, construction and infrastructure development.

 

The seminar promoting investment into Vietnam was jointly held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the ASEAN-Japan Centre. It brought together 250 representatives from Japanese companies which have already invested in Vietnam or intend to do so.

 

Dong told the participants that since joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and integrating into the world economy, Vietnam’s investment environment has become more competitive and increasingly adapted to that of many countries in the region and the world.

 

Bui Quoc Trung, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Department, briefed potential Japanese investors on the country’s foreign investment attraction, the national economy’s development prospects and the Government’s policies and measures designed to lure foreign investment.

 

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Japanese investors are currently operating 1,164 projects with an accumulated registered capital of 17.85 billion USD, ranking fourth among 89 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

 

The Japanese have always topped other peers in terms of FDI disbursement, with more than 5 billion USD disbursed in Vietnam to date.

 

Also, they take the lead in terms of increasing capital in their existing projects, asking for an additional 500 million USD in 2007 and 300 million USD in 2008.