As an old saying goes, 'good land attracts birds' and Việt Nam has become such a 'good land' for investors that over 60 per cent of Japanese firms want to do business in the country, according to Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.

 

PM Chính made the remarks at a high-level economic seminar on Tuesday on the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam-Japan diplomatic relations.

 

The PM said over the course of 50 years, Japan had positioned itself as Việt Nam's largest donor of Official Development Assistance, disbursing nearly 3 trillion yen (US$22 billion). Of which, 2.7 trillion comes as loans, 100 billion as aid, and 180 billion as financial support to cement technological cooperation.

 

The assistance has proved to be highly effective in fostering large-scale projects in the country, giving a big push to economic growth. More Japanese assistance has been called in to help Vietnamese strategic infrastructure maintain its momentum.

 

Regarding investment, Japan is the third-largest investor in Việt Nam, with over 5,000 active projects to date, amounting to an aggregate capital of nearly $70 billion. On the other hand, Vietnamese enterprises have initiated 104 projects in Japan with a total capital of approximately $20 million.

 

Commerce is the next sector in high gear. Accumulated bilateral trade hit about $50 billion by late 2022, with Japan being Việt Nam's fourth-largest trade partner. More importantly, the trade pattern is balanced as Việt Nam exports around $25 billion to and imports $24 billion from Japan.