Japan’s Can Tho investment focus

An MoU was inked last month between CPA and Wons JSC

The event seeks to bring exposure to the Mekong Delta province’s recent achievements across the board, along with its potential, advantages, investment opportunities, and latest funding support policies. At the symposium, Japanese investors and businesses will have the opportunity to meet city leaders and local authorised government agencies for direct exchanges and approach the city’s investment wish-list.

The event, which is tied to last year’s launch of Vietnam-Japan Friendship Industrial Park, attests to the importance of investors from Japan in Can Tho’s investment attraction trajectory.

In past years, the city has led many working groups to Japan, focusing on localities in Kansai with a view to strengthening strategic relations between the two ­countries generally, and in particular pushing trade ­exchanges and investment co-operation between Can Tho and Japanese localities.

Simultaneously, the province has greeted many delegations led by leaders of diverse Japanese localities, organisations, and other businesses to the city searching for investment opportunities.

In the words of Vu Tuan Hai, Vietnamese general consul in Osaka, Can Tho’s immense potential is particularly appealing to Japanese investors, particularly those in Kansai. “The city, therefore, needs to scale up efforts for investment promotion in Japan in order to effectively tap that potential,” Hai said. “The Vietnamese consulate in Osaka will do their utmost to boost Can Tho’s exposure among Japanese investors.”

According to Fukuoka Kenji, vice president of the Kobe Institute of Computing, as well as being rich in natural resources for agricultural production, Can Tho also has great prospects for services and tourism development. Besides IT training, the institute trains students on how to use ICT processes into resolving issues in people’s daily life in diverse fields such as agriculture and the environment, among others. The institute, therefore, wants to deepen co-operation with Can Tho in relevant fields.

The assessments are proving right, as the success of a recent conference in Can Tho showed. Earlier this year, nearly 100 Japanese companies attended an investment promotion and business networking event hosted by the Can Tho People’s Committee, within the framework of the city’s trip for trade promotion to Japan in March. On the occasion, Japanese investors showed keen interest in Can Tho’s investment environment, such as learning about current infrastructure for production and business, available incentives for investors, and discovering local business partners.

To bolster investment co-operation with the country, the Japan Desk has been set up in the city, with one deputy chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee acting as its director, and a Japanese expert as its deputy director. Meanwhile, in March the city inaugurated the Can Tho Desk’s liaison office in Tokyo. There is already a Can Tho Desk in Osaka.

Significantly, on July 18 this year, Can Tho Trade, Investment Promotion and Exhibition Centre (CPA) and Japanese partner Wons JSC inked a memorandum of understanding on their business co-operation.

Accordingly, the two sides will join hands in ­disseminating information about Can Tho’s investment wish-list to Japanese investors and businesses; ­networking, technology co-operation, capital investment, and business transactions between organisations of the two countries; and implementing promotional events for Can Tho in Japan, among others. Wons JSC intends to open a representative office in Can Tho this upcoming October to realise the signed MoU.

Nguyen Khanh Tung, CPA director, unveiled that the city will prioritise calling on Japanese companies to ­invest in the development of local industrial zones, central IT zones, and logistics zones while fostering trade ties with Japan through increased links between businesses from both Can Tho and Japan.