“Vietnam is a safe investment destination in Southeast Asia. This is the reason why Japanese companies choose Vietnam as a destination for cooperation and investment,” said Mr. Onaga Masaru, Chairman of Onaga Corporation, in his speech at the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement to form the Vietnam-Japan Techno-Park Complex at the Nam Ha Noi Supporting Industrial Park (HANSSIP) on February 20.
Mr. Onaga Masaru – Chairman of Onaga Corporation sharing at the event
Of the 10 aviation industry member companies of the Kobe Aero Network (KAN) (Japan) participating in this cooperation agreement signing ceremony, there are both companies that have invested and manufactured in Vietnam and companies that come to Hanoi for the first time to inspect the market and seek investment opportunities.
However, the common feature of these companies is that they are all long-standing companies specializing in the production of aircraft components, robots, high-speed trains, high-precision mechanics, etc. and have many customer partners in countries around the world.
The reason why these companies come to Vietnam, Mr. Onaga Masaru said: “The population in Japan is aging and the workforce in Japan is decreasing. Therefore, we are looking for investment directions abroad. In Vietnam, where there is an abundant young workforce with enthusiasm. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam is a safe investment destination.
In the context of the labor force causing businesses in Japan to decrease, we need to look for countries with young populations that are on the path of development. After research and exploration, we have chosen Vietnam to work together with Vietnamese companies to invest, manufacture, and supply component chains for the global market.”
The cooperation between Vietnam and Japan has been going on for a long time. Therefore, what Mr. Onaga Masaru desires is that Japanese companies, together with Vietnamese companies, join hands to produce support industrial products with a high level of new-generation technology suitable for the 4.0 industrial revolution, especially participating in and the global production chain of Japan.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), in the overall picture of 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, Japan ranks third with about 5,300 projects and $74 billion, of which more than 70% belong to the industrial sector.
In the context of FDI attraction declining sharply globally and in the region, neighboring countries like Malaysia, Thailand… saw a much larger decline rate than Vietnam.
The factors that make Vietnam attractive include: Political stability; the economy achieves positive growth in the context of most countries experiencing negative growth due to the Covid-19 pandemic, along with the global economic difficulties and unpredictable political risks; a population of nearly 100 million people, along with abundant labor force, Vietnam is considered a large consumption market.
To retain and attract more foreign investors, the Vietnamese Government and its ministries, agencies, and localities have been, are, and will continue to improve the effectiveness of policies and enhance the investment environment.
Prior to that, in the preliminary report on the “Survey on the Current Situation of Japanese Companies Overseas in the fiscal year 2023,” conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), when asked about the investment business situation in Vietnam, 56.7% of Japanese companies said they have plans to expand business in the next 1-2 years. This figure is higher than the ASEAN average of 47.5% and second only to Laos (63.3%).
The number of visitors to JETRO seeking investment and business opportunities in Vietnam continues to increase. This shows that Japanese investors still have a high level of interest in the Vietnamese market.
The support industry will create millions of new jobs and be an open market full of potential for Vietnamese companies to participate in dominating and contribute to helping Vietnam’s economy overcome the middle-income trap.
The cooperation in jointly researching, applying, and manufacturing general components and aerospace components in particular of Japanese companies – Kobe Aero Network (KAN) and Vietnamese companies – Hanoi Supporting Industrial Enterprises Association is a specific manifestation of cooperation between the governments of the two countries.
Japanese and Vietnamese companies have sufficient resources, capabilities, experience, labor, and infrastructure to collaborate in production together, participate together in the Japanese and global production chain.
Experts say there is no magical formula for attracting FDI. The most important thing is that Vietnam gradually improves the investment environment, enhances the effectiveness and transparency of administrative procedures, develops infrastructure, trains a high-quality industrial workforce, and promotes the support industry.
The fact that many Japanese and other countries’ investors plan to expand their business in Vietnam is evidence of the “good land, birds perch” story.
