Japanese experts involved in the programme commented: “the investment climate of Vietnam has made great progress”, and “this is an exemplary model”.

Like ‘family members’

Of 44 problems raised two years ago, Vietnam has solved 85%. “Previously foreigners had to pay higher electricity prices but now they enjoy the same prices as Vietnamese people. This signals an equal play ground for all economic sectors,” said Vice Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, Oshikiri Koji.

Many other issues, including infrastructure, have been improved remarkably. International phone charges and international telecom channel leasing fees have fallen to acceptable levels. Particularly, the exemption from short-term visas for Japanese visitors Vietnam has been warmly welcomed.

Mr. Oshikiri Koji said that Vietnam has gone a long way in improving its investment environment over the past two years.

There are some aspects that the country has not completed yet but they are going well, including attracting and using foreign investment to develop supporting industries. Vietnam is urgently carrying out its master plan on developing supporting industries for the auto, motorbike, electronics and textile-garment sectors.

Kyoshiro Ichikawa, a JICA expert who is working for the Vietnamese Department of Planning and Investment (MPI), said that a series of industrial zones for certain industries is under construction with investment preferences and they have attracted many foreign investors in auto and motorbike component parts.

“We complain that investment of Japan and other countries in Vietnam is still less than it could be, but we should know that to attract them, Vietnam must have strong supporting industries and some places in Vietnam can now do that,” he said.

Japanese companies also agree that Vietnam has made great progress in developing its human resources through many training projects, including those for farmers, ethnic minority students, labourers in industrial zones, IT, etc.

The good land

According to Nguyen Thi Bich Van, Vice Head of the Foreign Investment Department, the initial success of the Vietnam – Japan joint initiative programme has helped create a wave of investment by Japan in Vietnam.

“From our trip to three big cities in Japan last February we know that Japanese enterprises clearly understand Vietnam’s efforts to improve the investment environment. Our mission now is how to welcome them in Vietnam,” Ms. Van said.

“Birds come to good land”. At the three recent meetings between officials of MPI and the community of Japanese investors in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, representatives of many big groups in construction, mechanical engineering, IT expressed their wish to go to Vietnam seeking investment opportunities. Among them are investors who have invested billions of US dollars in China, Thailand, and Singapore.

They are the ones who have not come to Vietnam yet. Those who are in Vietnam now express their satisfaction through increasing investment capital in Vietnam. The MPI’s statistics show that more than 600 projects increased capital, including many Japanese ones. Particularly, Canon raised capital by $60mil, Honda by $58mil, and Nidec over $50mil.

Takashi Nakano, Director of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in HCM City, said that this year Japanese companies would continue increasing investment capital in Vietnam, especially those operating in the areas of IT and electronics.

“Vietnam’s environment climate is being improved along with Vietnam’s path to the World Trade Organisation. Japanese businesses will not lose their chance in Vietnam,” confirmed Mr. Takashi Nakano.

Phan Huu Thang, Head of the Foreign Investment Department, said that the remaining problems of the first phase of implementation of the Vietnam-Japan joint initiative programme would be solved in the second phase (2006-2007).

“The highest target of this programme is improving and raising Vietnam’s competitiveness and the subject that this programme aims to will be not only Japanese investors but also all foreign investors,” he emphasized.

Vice Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, Oshikiri Koji also said that the first phase of the Vietnam-Japan joint initiative programme achieved many clear successes. Specifically the programme completed 41 items of operation. However, many issues have not been solved yet and the second phase of this programme is necessary to solve the remaining problems in investment cooperation between the two countries.

The plan for the second phase was approved last December. The two governments are discussing officially implementing the plan in the third quarter of 2006. However, Mr. Oshikiri refused to disclose the detailed plan.

Mr. Oshikiri said that Japanese enterprises are paying attention to Vietnam but many Japanese investors tend to move their investment from Vietnam to Indonesia and Thailand. As a result, the second phase of the joint initiative programme aims to preventing the move of Japanese investment from Vietnam to other countries.

“Our initial survey shows that Japanese investors want further improvement of Vietnam’s investment environment. The Japanese government also commits to support Vietnam in this task,” Mr. Oshikiri said.

According to the Foreign Investment Department, the implementation of the Vietnam-Japan joint initiative programme in the second phase will help strengthen the cooperation relations between the two sides. The programme will also help deal with problems that Japanese investors are facing in Vietnam. The programme is also a catalyst to promote the investment relations in particular and multi-faceted cooperation in general between the two sides.

Source: Tuoi Tre, VNE