Japanese companies are shifting production to Vietnam from China to avoid the labor strike and rising currency that may hamper their operations, the Japanese local newswire Ashahi reported.
Hiroyoshi Masuoka, general manager of the Hanoi-based Thang Long Industrial Park 2 (TLIP2), said four Japanese companies inked contracts to build factories at the park in the past two months and three more are scheduled to do so by July.
Many companies started harboring doubts about production in China, the so-called factory of the world, after labor strikes hit auto parts factories of Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co, Masuoka said.
They are also worried about an anti-Japan sentiment resulted from an increasing demand for higher pay and better working by workers around China, he added.
Hirota Nakanishi, an investment adviser of the Japan External Trade Organization's office in Ho Chi Minh City, said many Japanese firms predicted a sharp increase in labor costs and the Yuan appreciation half a year ago, and they have been looking for moving to Vietnam.
“More companies from Japan will relocate their production to Southeast Asian country in the coming years”, he noted.
Takagi Co., a water purification device maker based in Kita-Kyushu, selected Vietnam for its Vietnam for its factory, not China.
Nikkiso Co., which had to shift its plant from Shanghai to TLIP2 due to the Chinese government’s changes in urban planning, believed that there are no such risks in Vietnam.
Japanese companies have to date poured $19.3 billion into 1,211 projects in Vietnam, ranking the 3rd among the countries and territories making investment in the country. (
www.asahi.com) )
Vietnamese
