Meeting in Danang city on November 22, nearly 300 scholars and businesspeople, including 70 investors from Japan’s Kansai region, exchanged views on how to increase and effectively use foreign investment, especially from Japan, in developing infrastructure, manufacturing and support industries in the region.

Addressing the annual Vietnam-Kansai economic dialogue forum, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai noted that Japan is one of Vietnam’s leading economic, investment and trade partners.

Japan is the biggest aid donor and the fourth biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, said Mr Hai, adding that it ranks first among foreign investors in terms of capital disbursement. 

The two countries signed an investment protection and encouragement agreement in 2004 and a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in 2007.

They signed a joint initiative in December 2003 to improve the investment environment in Vietnam, paving the way for strengthening their investment cooperation. They have completed three phases and are entering phase IV of the initiative, dealing with hundreds of issues related to the investment environment in Vietnam.

However, the Deputy PM noted that Japanese investment in central Vietnam remains modest. He quoted statistics as saying by the end of October 2011, the central region attracted 750 projects capitalised at US$23.7 billion. Of the total figure, Japan invested in 71 projects worth US$417 million, making up only 2 percent of its total investment in Vietnam.

Vietnam is making every effort to attract foreign investment in the central region, with Danang City serving as the gateway to other economies in the region and the world, said Hai.

He said Danang is taking shape as a production base in the central region. The city will take part in the global supply chains to create added values for Vietnamese products to further penetrate regional and global economies.

According to the Deputy PM, the forum offered a good chance for the two countries’ businesspeople to discuss investment policy and the potential for investment cooperation.

The forum, the fifth of its kind, is part of the annual economic cooperation exchange programme between Vietnam and Kansai region. This year’s event was focused on infrastructure development in Vietnam and the East-West Economic Corridor in particular. It also aimed to encourage businesses from Kansai to invest in the manufacturing and support industries in central Vietnam.

Kansai is Japan’s second largest economic, industrial and services centre after Tokyo. It is home to reputable manufacturing and services groups such as Panasonic, Sharp, Sanyo, Hitachi Zoren and Sumitomo Metal and Takashimaya.

The region is a leading Japanese centre of science-technology and education-training, boasting nearly 600 universities and research & development institutions.

Economic ties between Vietnam and Kansai have grown and flourished in recent years alongside the fine development of the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership. Businesses from Kansai see Vietnam as a potential investment destination.