VN, Japan sign Mekong deal

The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s branch in Can Tho City and Japan’s Brain Works Co signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to stimulate Japanese investments in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region and enhance trade co-operation between the two countries.— VNA/VNS Photo

VCCI Can Tho and Brain Work Co, a Japanese enterprise specialising in investment advice, ICT and human resource training with 20 years of experiences in Viet Nam, will promote a programme to boost annual trade exchanges between businesses from both countries.

The programme will include market research, business consulting, training and connecting businesses.

The two sides agreed to establish a Research and Development Centre of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the Mekong Delta region in 2017.

The centre will consist of 11 members, including a non-profit organisation in charge of supporting and developing the Japanese business community in Asia, together with 10 Japanese software programming, ICT, Internet of things (IoT), education, health and investment promotion firms.

Vo Hung Dung, Director of VCCI Can Tho, said the centre is critical to boosting ICT development in the region and also a breakthough in attracting foreign investments in this sector in line with the socio-economic development direction of Viet Nam, in general, and Can Tho City, in particular.

Dung noted, however, that most businesses in the region are of small and medium size, which remains a problem since they mainly operate in the field of exports such as rice and seafood and few are in raw materials. “Therefore, to meet market requirements, it is inevitable to apply modern technology in production to create high value-added products as well as improving governance,” Dung said.

Noboru Kondo, President of Brain Works said that Can Tho Province has huge development potential and plays an important role in connecting Vietnamese and Japanese businesses in the Mekong Delta region.

Although Japan’s FDI places second in Viet Nam, with more than US$40 billion, its FDI in the Mekong Delta remains modest. As of 2016, Japan had 140 new projects in the Mekong Delta with a total capital of over $645 million.— VNS

Japan’s Aomori apples come to Viet Nam

Fresh apples marketed by Aomori, one of the biggest apple producers in Japan, will be available on the shelves of several supermarkets from now.

Representative of the supermarket chain Intimex said this was a part of the firm’s plan to import quality products from Japan and sell to Vietnamese consumers.

Aomori apples will debut in Intimex, BigC and Unimart stores on December 18.

Dinh Tien Thanh, general director of Intimex Viet Nam, said that it took two years to work with Aomori on the deal, which will include the two most popular types of Aomori apples, Fuji and Kinsei. — VNS