HÀ NÔI — Việt Nam is expected to receive more foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan in the coming years as part of its strategy to shift investment attraction towards high-quality capital.

According to the latest updates from the Việt Nam Foreign Investment Agency, Japan ranked first out of 51 countries and territories with investments in Việt Nam in January with a total registered capital of nearly US$364 million, making up 19 per cent of all registered FDI in Việt Nam.

Major projects from Japan in January included the $134 million investment by Kyoshin Việt Nam in electronic component production, Katolec Global Logistics’ $65 million investment to build warehouses in Hà Nam Province and Sews Components Việt Nam 2’s $65 million for building a factory in Hưng Yên Province.

Goki Nobuta, general director of Thăng Long Industrial Park Company in the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc, said the level of investment from Japan was increasing significantly.

He was quoted by Thời Báo Kinh Tế Việt Nam (Việt Nam Economic Times) as saying that, when completed, the industrial park was expected to receive money from 80 Japanese firms in the part-supply and high-tech industries.

Phan Hữu Thắng, former Director of the Việt Nam Foreign Investment Agency, said Japanese investment in Việt Nam had been on a stable upwards trend over the last three decades.

The FDI capital flow from Japan to Việt Nam would continue to increase in coming years, given the two countries’ extensive strategic partnership, Thắng said.

Economist Võ Trí Thành said the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which the two countries are both members, would also create opportunities for Việt Nam to attract more investment from Japan.

However, Thành noted that Việt Nam needed to continue improving its business climate and hasten institutional reforms to enhance transparency and accountability.

Việt Nam was eyeing investments from Japan in infrastructure development, energy, electronics, automobiles, agricultural processing, high-tech agriculture and the environment.

Japan was the leading foreign investor in Việt Nam out of 112 countries and territories with investments in Việt Nam in 2018 with a total capital of $8.59 billion, accounting for 24.2 per cent of the registered FDI for the year.

So far, Japanese investors have poured a total sum of $57 billion into Việt Nam, making Japan the second largest foreign investor in the country after the Republic of Korea. Around 1,800 Japanese firms are operating in the country. — VNS