Attracting FDI and the story of "good land, birds flock"

Thung Nham, a good land for birds to nest. Synchronous infrastructure, the East of Saigon is a 'good land for birds to nest'

“In Southeast Asia , Vietnam is a safe investment destination. This is the reason why Japanese enterprises choose Vietnam as a destination for investment cooperation,” said Mr. Onaga Masaru, Chairman of Onaga Joint Stock Company, in his speech at the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement to form the Vietnam-Japan Techno-Park Complex at the Hanoi South Supporting Industrial Park (HANSSIP) on February 20.

ông Onaga Masaru – Chủ tịch Công ty Cổ phần Onaga

Mr. Onaga Masaru - Chairman of Onaga Joint Stock Company shared at the event

Among the 10 aviation member enterprises of the Kobe Aero Network (KAN) Association (Japan) participating in the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement this time, there are enterprises that have invested and produced in Vietnam, as well as enterprises that are coming to Hanoi for the first time to check the market and seek investment cooperation opportunities.

However, the common point of these businesses is that they are all businesses with many years of experience specializing in the production of aircraft components, robots, high-speed trains, high-tech mechanics... and have many customer partners in countries around the world.

The reason for these businesses to come to Vietnam was given by Mr. Onaga Masaru: “The population in Japan is aging and the human resources in Japan are decreasing. Therefore, we are looking for investment directions abroad. In Vietnam, where there is an abundant and enthusiastic young workforce. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam is a safe place to invest.

In the context of the human resources that make businesses in Japan are decreasing, we need to look to countries with young populations that are on the rise. After researching and learning, we have chosen Vietnam to cooperate with Vietnamese businesses to invest, produce, and supply component chains for the global market .

The cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Japan has been going on for a long time. Therefore, what Mr. Onaga Masaru wants is for Japanese enterprises to cooperate with Vietnamese enterprises to produce supporting industrial products with new generation high technology content suitable for the 4.0 industrial revolution, especially participating in Japan's global production chain.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), in the general picture of 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, Japan ranks 3rd with about 5,300 projects and 74 billion USD, of which more than 70% is in the industrial sector.

In the context of a sharp decline in FDI attraction globally and regionally, neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, etc. have a much sharper decline rate than Vietnam.

Factors that make Vietnam attractive include: Political stability; positive economic growth in the context of most countries experiencing negative growth due to the Covid-19 pandemic along with global economic difficulties and unpredictable political risks; with a population of nearly 100 million people, along with an abundant labor force, Vietnam is considered a large consumer market.

To retain and attract more foreign investors, the Government and ministries, branches and localities of Vietnam have been and will continue to improve policy effectiveness and perfect the investment environment.

Previously, in the Preliminary Report on the "Survey on the Current Situation of Japanese Enterprises Abroad in the Fiscal Year 2023" conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JETRO), when asked about the investment and business situation in Vietnam, 56.7% of Japanese enterprises said they planned to expand their 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 are still paying great attention to the Vietnamese market.

The supporting industry will create millions of new jobs and is a potential "untapped market" for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in and contribute to helping the Vietnamese economy overcome the middle-income trap.

The cooperation in research, application and production of components in general and aerospace components in particular between Japanese enterprises - Kobe Aero Network Association (KAN) and Vietnamese enterprises - Hanoi Association of Supporting Industry Enterprises is a concrete manifestation of the cooperation between the two governments.

Japanese and Vietnamese enterprises have full potential - ability - experience - labor and infrastructure to cooperate in production and participate in the Japanese and global production chain.

Experts say there is no magic formula to attract FDI. The most important thing is for Vietnam to gradually improve the investment environment, increase the efficiency and transparency of administrative procedures, develop infrastructure, train highly qualified industrial human resources and promote supporting industries.

The fact that many Japanese and other foreign investors plan to expand their business in Vietnam is proof of the story of “good land attracts birds”.

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