Japanese Firms Invest $18B in Vietnam at end-March

Japanese companies invested $18 billion in 1,194 projects in Vietnam by the end of the first quarter this year, said the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

 

With the investments Japan ranked the fourth among 89 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian market, the agency said.

 

Up to 60.4% of Japan’s projects and 86.8% of its capital focus on the Vietnamese processing and manufacturing sector.

 

If the Vietnamese government approves Japanese Kobe Steel Ltd’s $1-billion steel project in the central province of Nghe An, more Japanese companies will come to the country in the coming years, economists said.

 

The Southeast Asian nation has attracted big firms from Japan, including Canon, Sony, Sumitomo, Suzuki, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi.

 

Japanese investors will increase their investment in Vietnam in the areas of services, telecom, banking, finance and distribution in the years to come, instead of concentrating on manufacturing projects previously, said the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). (Liberated Saigon)