FDI into Vietnam will recover after COVID-19: JETRO Chief

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Tokyo - FDI inflows into Vietnam will soon bounce back once the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control, Chief Representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Hanoi Takeo Nakajima said on September 9.

He made the remarks during an online seminar on Vietnam-Japan investment, co-held by the ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) and JETRO together with the Trade Promotion Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan, and the three northern provinces of Vinh Phuc, Quang Ninh, and Nghe An, attracting hundreds of businesses from the two countries.

FDI into Vietnam has always enjoyed constant increases, he said, and even though investment has now slowed due to COVID-19 it will recover in the post-pandemic period.

The Vietnamese Government has introduced numerous incentives and created the conditions necessary for foreign companies, including those from Japan, to invest in the country, he explained.

Vietnam is also a signatory to many free trade and economic partnership agreements, and is gradually joining global supply chains. Most of the world’s financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, have said that Vietnam may be the only Southeast Asian nation to post growth this year, he added.

Various Japanese firms in Vietnam have been hurt by the pandemic, he explained, resulting in stagnating investment inflows.

Speaking at the event’s plenary session, AJC Secretary General Masataka Fujita underlined the need to bolster cooperation between Japan and Vietnam to overcome the impact of the pandemic.

He noted that the seminar aims to further connect the two countries’ businesses and help them seek suitable partners.

Japan has been an important investor in Vietnam during the 47 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, Director of the Trade Promotion Department Vu Ba Phu affirmed.

Stronger investment from Japan in the future and incentives on technology transfer are expected to raise Vietnam’s technological and production capacity, he noted.

Vietnam had welcomed more than 2,000 Japanese investors as of late 2019.

Japan was Vietnam’s second-largest foreign investor last year, with registered capital totalling 59.3 billion USD, or 16.7 percent of the total foreign investment.