HÀ NỘI — With a growing economy, sophisticated market, innovation, together with business-friendly infrastructure and a comfortable living environment, Japan is attractive destination for Vietnamese enterprises to invest in.

The statement was made by Hironobu Kitagawa, chief representative of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Hà Nội, at a conference to introduce investment support programme to Japan held in Hà Nội yesterday.

Apart from investment promotion from Japan to Việt Nam, JETRO offers a programme to support Vietnamese businesses when investing to Japan.

Specifically, when a Vietnamese enterprise wishes to invest in Japan, such as opening a representative office, branch, subsidiary or legal entity in Japan, after completing the registration procedure with JETRO, the companies will be offered support in Japan for free.

In terms of facilities, temporary office space will be provided for the firms, including internet, telephone, fax and photocopying services within 50 working days at the Invest Business Support Centre (IBSC) located in six cities in Japan, namely Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe and Fukuoka. In addition to the private office for one to six people, the companies also can use meeting rooms, conference rooms and reception rooms at the IBSC.

At the IBSCs, experts will consult businesses on various matters, including on tax-related procedures, employment law, residency law, local business conditions and more.

From 2003 to date, some 16,000 foreign companies have used this programme, of which, approximately 1,600 enterprises have successfully opened businesses.

Several Vietnamese companies have used the support programme from JETRO and have successfully opened firms in Japan such as Việt Nam’s largest information technology service company FPT (opened in 2005 in Tokyo) and CMC Corporation (opened October this year in Yokohama).

On the obstacles of Vietnamese firms when investing into Japan, Kitagawa affirmed that the Japanese government is concentrating on attracting investment from foreign countries, especially Việt Nam, so the government will create the best conditions for businesses to invest in Japan.

However, one of the difficulties for Vietnamese companies when investing in Japan is financial issues, as opening offices, leasing working places, operating firms and hiring employees in Japan is quite expensive, Nguyễn Sĩ Hải, JETRO Hà Nội’s representative told Việt Nam News. — VNS