Japan Desk, a service to assist Japanese businesses with an aim to improve business environment and promoting Japanese investment in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. — Photo bizlive

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)  — Japan Desk, a service to assist Japanese businesses with an aim to improve business environment and promoting Japanese investment in the province, opened yesterday in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the provincial People's Committee said.

The Japan Desk will help provide information on the investment environment in the southern province as well as introduce partners for investment and solve challenges facing Japanese enterprises.

The opening ceremony, at which the announcement was made yesterday, also marked the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on investment cooperation between a joint venture of the Japanese bank Mizuho, the Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank), and the committee.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, committee vice chairman Ho Van Nien said the province aimed to become an international trans-shipment port in the future, and was implementing measures to attract more investment from Japan.

The province will focus on attracting investment in the support industry, logistics, finance, banking and healthcare, in addition to traditional fields like oil, gas, power, fertilisers, tourism, seafood and trade and services.

To date, the province has 290 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, with total registered capital of US$26.6 billion. Of the figure, Japan has 19 projects with a total investment of more than $1.9 billion. — VNS