Vietnam attempts to increase investment in Japan

The Trans-Pacific Partnership could drive trade between Vietnam and Japan and increase investment into Japan.

Investment by Europe and the Americas in Japan increased by 3.6% during the 2000-2015 period, while Asian investment grew 9%, showing the interest of Asian investors for Japan. Since Japan has been known as a demanding market for high quality products, it often is used as a launch market for new products.  Vietnamese investors are eying Japan.

"We can learn a lot from Japan technology and increase the quality of our products. We can also have the chance to export our products to other countries", Do Nhat Hoang - Director General of Foreign Investment Department, Ministry of Planning and Investment - spoke.

Japan is one of the world’s leading IT markets, and Vietnam could strengthen co-operation with this global tech powerhouse. Vietnam is currently the second largest software outsourcing destination for Japan after China.

"We’ve still seen economic development despite the world economy not showing particularly positive signs. Policies like lowering tax rate for firms are expected to attract more Vietnamese investors to Japan. We hope to co-operate with Vietnamese firms in IT", Katsuro - Chief of Economic Section of Japanese Embassy in Vietnam - spoke.

Japan and Vietnam have seen fruitful co-operation in education and training in recent years. The number of Vietnamese students studying in Japan has increased 10-fold over the past 5 years. However, language remains a barrier for firms wanting to enter Japan.

"FPT University and Ho Chi Minh University of Industry have courses for engineers in Japanese. So it is expected that in the near future, we’ll have people that can use Japanese", Nguyen Doan Hung - Deputy Chairman of Viet Nam Software and IT Services Association - said.

According to the Japan Export Trade Research Organisation, in order to strengthen direct investment in Japan, Vietnam should open an office in Japan so customers can work with suppliers directly.