Japan remains the second-biggest investor in the southern province of Binh Duong with a total of 249 projects, worth US$5.2 billion, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

Nguyen Thanh Truc, director of the province’s Department of Planning and Investment, said during a meeting on Wednesday with Japanese investors that investment from Japanese enterprises accounted for nearly 19 per cent of total foreign direct investment in the province.

Following Taiwan, Japan remains the second biggest investor in the province, he said.

Japanese companies have invested in the Tokyu Binh Duong property project with capital of $1.2 billion and Wonderful Saigon Electrics has received $450 million investment from the Sun-S group at the Viet Nam – Singapore Industrial Park. Aeon Mall, a trade centre project, has received investment of $95 million.

“The Japanese have continued to invest in Binh Duong, which is a positive sign proving that Binh Duong remains attractive to foreign investors in general and Japanese investors in particular,” Truc said.

Kawaue Junichi, General Consul of Japan in HCM City, said that along with relations between Viet Nam and Japan, relations between Japan and Binh Duong Province had developed strongly.

With a high development growth rate, Binh Duong has attracted many foreign investors, he said, adding that Japan is also investing in many infrastructure and transportation projects in HCM City.

Binh Duong is expected to become an important hub for Japanese enterprises in the coming time, he added.

On Wednesday, the provincial authorities met with Japanese investors who have projects in the province to help them overcome obstacles they are facing.

This is the second time this year that the province has organised this kind of meeting with Japanese investors.

At the meeting, investors spoke about difficulties, including social insurance for foreign labourers, customs issues, provisional stays, transportation, machine imports, human resources training, kindergartens for kids of labourers, time needed to grant investment certificates, and wages.

All of the questions were answered at the meeting by local officials.

The People’s Committee of the province holds regular meetings with enterprises. It aims to solve difficulties that companies face and to create an advantageous investment environment for investors.

At the meetings, representatives from sectors answer questions and give guidance to companies about legal issues relating to their operation and investment in the province. — VNS