The survey on “Overseas Business Cooperation by Japanese Manufacturing Companies in 2009” was conducted from July-August.

The report surveyed more than 1,000 overseas Japanese companies, 625 of which responded positively to the survey. Most of them specialise in food, electronics, automobiles, chemicals, general machinery, precious machinery and textiles.

The future growth potential of local market surpassed labour cost for the first time, which allowed Vietnam to lure Japanese companies.

The number of Japanese companies that are unsatisfied with Vietnam’s infrastructure dropped from 47 percent in 2008 to 34 percent this year. The country’s underdeveloped infrastructure continues to be a pressing issue.

Japan is one of Vietnam’s leading sources of foreign investment, with a total of 1,158 operational projects in the country, worth more than US$17.8 billion.

The country is also a leading investor in the disbursement of committed capital with US$5 billion.

China and India ranked first and second in the survey.