City readies red carpet for Japan investors

In the first 11 months of this year the city has attracted US$101 million from Japan in 112 projects, making that country one of the three biggest investors.— Photo dautu

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— HCM City authorities have said they are ready to listen, share the burden, and help companies resolve their difficulties as part of their efforts to attract foreign direct investment, especially from Japan.

In the first 11 months of this year the city has attracted US$101 million from Japan in 112 projects, making that country one of the three biggest investors.

Le Manh Ha, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee, said though the value is not much compared with total Japanese investment in Viet Nam, it plays an important role in the city's socio-economic development.

HCM City seeks more Japanese investment in all sectors and is always ready to help resolve obstacles investors face, he said.

Pho Nam Phuong, director of the city's Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, said in the last 12 years the city has organised many roundtables with Japanese companies to listen to and resolve their problems while investing in Viet Nam.

These have played an important role in attracting more Japanese investors to HCM City, she said.

In 2011 the roundtables received 18 queries related to tax, customs, labour, and infrastructure, and the number jumped to 26 last year, she said.

This year there have been 64 related to the Vietnamese economy, culture, and society and to many new areas like food safety and natural resources and environment, she said.

Besides providing answers, the roundtable this year also tabled many new documents, helping the Japanese investors understand about the city's FDI norms.

The HCM City authorities' efforts were appreciated by the Japanese.

Hirumitsu Hida, the Japanese consul in the city, said the roundtables have played a big role and hoped they would continue to help resolve difficulties faced by Japanese companies. Japanese investment is flowing into many countries, and HCM City should take advantage, he said. — VNS