PM welcomes SoftBank’s investment expansion in Vietnam

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (second from right) and SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son (second from left) (Source: VNA)

PM Phuc, who has been in Japan to attend the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito, hosted a reception for SoftBank Group Corp’s Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son in Tokyo on October 22.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund is investing 100 billion USD globally to facilitate corporate innovation and create new industries and services.

PM Phuc lauded SoftBank’s business performance on regional and global scales, especially in breakthrough technology projects that help improve living conditions of people around the world.

Highlighting the importance of the Vietnam – Japan extensive strategic partnership, he said it was also partly contributed by SoftBank via its projects in Vietnam. The PM also applauded SoftBank’s expansion of partnership with Vietnamese businesses in different spheres.

Son, for his part, said SoftBank has earned solid gains in Vietnam via fund investments and technological companies that yield high added value.

SoftBank poured 3 billion USD into Grab, making it a leading transportation services provider in Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, he said, adding that the group has also invested in the field of payment.

He suggested that Vietnam should continue attracting foreign investment to reduce risks and attract new technologies to the country.

A representative from Grab said thanks to SoftBank’s investment capital, Grab invested over 200 million USD and created more than 220,000 jobs in Vietnam. In the next five years, it will pour additional 500 million USD to develop fintech, new mobile technologies and logistics.

While applauding investment activities of SoftBank and Grab in Vietnam, PM Phuc urged SoftBank to make breakthroughs in the Vietnamese market with extremely big projects in accordance with the stature of the largest Japanese economic group and the development of Vietnam-Japan relations.

The PM expressed his hope that SoftBank will invest in other fields with high added value, not only in financial and high-tech transport areas.

The Vietnamese government will provide all favourable conditions for SoftBank to successfully invest in the country, he affirmed.