Strengthening Vietnam-Japan Business Ties

Japan is now the top trade partner of Vietnam in terms of investment and trade. Investment capital flows from Japan into Vietnam continue increasing in both investment size and project numbers. Japan now ranks the third largest foreign investor in Vietnam in terms of pledged capital, but holds first place in terms of realised capital with US$7.4 billion in 735 projects. Japan is also the largest official development assistance (ODA) provider for Vietnam. From 1992 to 2005, Japan provided around US$11 billion ODA capital for Vietnam, accounting for 30 per cent of total international ODA in Vietnam. In 2006, Japan pledged to provide US$850 million worth of ODA capital for Vietnam in five main fields, namely human resources development and institution construction; traffic and electrical work construction and improvement; industrial development and rural infrastructure construction; health education and training development; and environment protection.

 

In trade, Vietnam and Japan have maintained a high growth rate in recent years. Two-way trade revenue reached US$4.5 billion in 2000 and jumped to over US$8.5 billion in 2005. In 2006, bilateral trade revenue reached US$9.9 billion, with a US$532 million trade surplus for Vietnam. In the first five months of 2007, the two-way trade generated US$4.2 billion, up 8 per cent on year. The structure of traded commodities is also more positive than in 2000. Apart from traditional high-yield seafood, garment, textile, electrical wire and cables and crude oil, Vietnam can export new products like instant noodles, cashew nuts, toys and coal.