Illustrative photo (Source: CTV)Hanoi (VNA) – Japan is currently Vietnam’s leading economic partner, according to theVietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
The chamber noted thatin 2017, two-way trade reached 33.3 billion USD. The figure hit 27.8 billion inthe first nine months of 2018.
Japan imported fromVietnam aquatic, apparel products and processed food, while Vietnam importedfrom Japan materials, equipment and production machineries.
Last year, Japan wasthe biggest investor of Vietnam with a record amount of 9.11 billion USD.Japanese investment in the first nine months of 2018 hit 7 billion USD,accounting for nearly 28 percent of the total foreign investment in Vietnam,bringing the figure as of September this year to 55.77 billion USD.
According to YoshiyikiFukuda, President and CEO of the Tokyo SME Support Centre, Vietnam is one ofthe ASEAN countries with the highest GDP growth. Furthermore, Vietnam’spopulation is rising and the human resources quality is improving, he said.
Many Japanese firmsintend to expand partnership with their Vietnamese peers on a win-win basis, hesaid, adding that the firms, strong in technology and producing high-qualityproducts, expect to not only introduce their products and invest in theirstrong areas, but also seek Vietnamese long-term partners to join productionand supply chains.
A survey by the Japan ExternalTrade Organisation (JETRO) found that nearly 70 percent of the Japanese firmsinvesting in Vietnam plan to expand their businesses in the future.
Japanese expertsadvised that in order to become suppliers for Japanese firms, Vietnamesebusinesses should improve the added values for their products.-VNA
VNA
