HCM City and Japanese firms discussed investment opportunities at a business-matching event held in HCM City on Thursday. — Photo baocongthuong.com.vn

HCM City and Japanese firms discussed investment opportunities at a business-matching event held in HCM City on Thursday.

At the event, more than 100 participants, including representatives from HCM City companies and 11 members of Junior Chamber International Japan (JCI), met to discuss potential business deals in various fields, including finance, industry and service, as well as in industrial zones.

Kentaro Harada, chairman of JCI, said that Vietnamese industry and service sectors had been developing well and that the country had become an ideal destination for investors, but that it needed to attract more investment to speed up industrial growth.

He said Japanese companies should not miss the chance to invest in the industrial, service and consumption sectors in Viet Nam.

Steve Bui, chairman of Delta E&C Japan, said that Viet Nam had great potential.

He said that, through co-operation with Japanese companies, domestic companies would have opportunities to apply modern technologies and improve product quality.

Japan is one of Viet Nam’s key investors. As of the end of last year, Japanese companies had invested in 3,280 projects in the country, worth a total of US$42 billion, equivalent to 14 per cent of total foreign investment in the country.

Bilateral trade between the two countries continued to increase in recent years, with average annual growth in the last 10 years of 13.9 per cent.

Trade volume by 2020 is expected to be $60 billion, compared to $9.93 billion in 2006 and $30 billion now. — VNS