Deputy Director of the municipal chapter of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nguyen The Hung said Japan is the leading economic partner, the largest supplier of official development assistance, the second largest foreign investor, the third largest source of tourist arrivals and the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam. 

Hung attributed Vietnam’s attractiveness to its huge market potential, high economic growth, stable socio-political climate and reasonable labour costs. 

President and CEO of Tokyo SME Support Centre Yoshiyuki Fukuda hailed Vietnam for having the highest gross domestic product growth in ASEAN and improving its workforce quality. 

He said Japanese enterprises, with strengths in technology and high-quality products, want to invest in manufacturing in Vietnam, adding that they also want to seek Vietnamese partners to do long-term business. 

Chairman of Keiden Vietnam Co. Ltd Masaki Himeno said Vietnam holds huge potential for development, especially in motorbikes, automobiles and electronics.

Last year, two-way trade between Vietnam and Japan hit US$33.3 billion. In the first nine months of this year, the figure reached US$27.8 billion. Japan mostly imports aquatic products, apparel, leather and footwear and processed food from Vietnam while Vietnam buys materials, equipment and machinery for production.

Japan was the largest investor in Vietnam last year with total registered capital of US$9.11 billion. The nine-month figure was US$7 billion, accounting for nearly 28% of the total in Vietnam. As of late September, Japan invested in 3,899 projects worth US$55.77 billion in Vietnam.