Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai, speaking at an economic forum in Hanoi on October 14, said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact would drive up trade between Vietnam and Japan.
The trade pact over which Pacific Rim trade ministers concluded negotiations last week would particularly bolster trade and investment ties between the two countries in supporting industries and agriculture, Hai told the 2015 Vietnam-Japan Economic Forum, attended by more than 300 leaders of enterprises, business associations and organizations of Vietnam and Japan.
He said Vietnam is calling for Japanese investors to get involved in different industries, especially in electronics, agricultural machinery, agro-aqua processing, shipbuilding, environment, energy saving and auto part production.
The Government also encourages Japanese investments in the sectors which Japanese firms are strong in and support Vietnam’s economic growth, Hai told the forum co-held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
Vietnam will cooperate with Japanese authorities and enterprises to further improve the business environment in order to attract more investors from the northeast Asian country.
Over the years, the Government has taken bold moves to better the investment environment and boost the competitiveness of the economy, and strive to meet the standards of the ASEAN-6 bloc of Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, and the ASEAN-4 bloc grouping Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Vietnam is having more opportunities to deepen the comprehensive partnership with Japan by its further international integration and implementation of free trade agreements (FTAs). Trade ministers of Vietnam, Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim countries concluded talks over the U.S.-led TPP trade pact, which is waiting for ratification by their legislatures.
However, many problems still challenge Japanese firms in this market. According to JETRO, the low localization ratio is among the barriers to Japanese investments in Vietnam. Local content in products made in Vietnam by Japanese enterprises accounts for only 33%, below 43% in Indonesia and 55% in Thailand.
Therefore, Vietnam has to develop its supporting industries and back small and medium enterprises (SMEs) if the country wants more materials and industrial components to be produced for foreign manufacturers in this market.
At the forum, JETRO pledged to step up connectivity between Vietnamese suppliers of components and Japanese manufacturers.
Agriculture is one of the sectors the two countries will strengthen cooperation in as Vietnam is restructuring the sector for sustainable development and production of more value-added farm produce. JETRO will introduce state-of-the-art technologies to enterprises in the sector.
A survey of JETRO indicated Vietnam is one of the countries attractive to Japanese enterprises. This year, of the 521 Japanese SMEs wanting to invest in emerging markets, 130 express interest in Vietnam, much higher than 78 firms keen on Thailand.
At a meeting with State President Truong Tan Sang on the same day, JETRO vice president Yuri Sato said more Japanese are interested in the Vietnamese market, which is evident in the fact that more than 12,000 entrepreneurs have sought advice at JETRO to do business in Vietnam.
Sang told the delegation of Japanese business representatives who attended the economic forum that Japan is among Vietnam’s top partners. He hoped that the country would continue taking the lead in trade, investment and supply of official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam.
Sang highlighted close cooperation between Japan and Vietnam in human resource development and agriculture. He requested Japan to continue assisting Vietnam in human resource development for supporting industries.
Source: http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/
Key words: TPP, to boost, Vietnam-Japan trade
