Creating opportunities for Nghe An to become an attractive investment destination from Japan
(Baonghean.vn) - At the bilateral business connection event, leaders of Nghe An province had a frank exchange with partners from Japan, and at the same time connected market information, production and business cooperation partners between Japanese enterprises and enterprises in Nghe An province.
On the afternoon of August 22, in Vinh City, the People's Committee of Nghe An province coordinated with Brain Works Group (BWG) to organize the Nghe An - Japan Business Connection Conference (67th EGA Business Conference).
Attending the conference were Mr. Naomichi Murooka - Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office; Kondo Noboru - CEO of Brain Works Group, and 20 organizations and enterprises from Japan.
On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrade Nguyen Nam Dinh - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee of Provincial Agencies; comrade Le Ngoc Hoa - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien - former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, Deputy Head of the Socio-Economic Development Advisory Group for the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and 70 enterprises in many industries and fields operating in Nghe An.
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| 120 delegates from Japan and Nghe An attended the conference. Photo: Thu Giang |
Create open space for business communication
In his opening speech, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa affirmed that the conference is an opportunity for Nghe An province to introduce and promote the province's potential and investment opportunities to the Japanese business community, and at the same time an opportunity for Nghe An businesses to connect, exchange and learn, and lay the foundation for investment and business activities with the business community from Japan.
Currently, in Nghe An province, there are 8 projects with FDI capital invested by Japan with a total investment capital of over 92 million USD. Investment fields include: limestone mining, food, garment, component manufacturing, waste treatment, infrastructure. Japan is also the largest ODA donor for Nghe An. Up to now, the total number of projects funded by Japan in Nghe An is 44 projects, with a total funding capital of 5,070 billion VND.
The provincial leader added that Nghe An currently has nearly 12,000 businesses operating effectively. In 2018, Nghe An's provincial competitiveness index (PCI) ranked 19th out of 63 provinces and cities, leading the North Central region. In terms of trade, in 2018, the export turnover between Nghe An enterprises and Japanese partners reached 22.13 million USD, including garments, various stones, handicrafts, wood, wood products, seafood, fruits and fruit juices, salt, and resin; the import turnover reached 13.1 million USD, including machinery and equipment, phones and phone components, production materials, and salt. In terms of labor, Nghe An is one of the localities with a large number of citizens going to work in Japan with about 3,000 - 4,000 workers/year...
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| Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa delivered the opening speech at the conference. Photo: Thu Giang |
“We wish to create an open space for the business community of Nghe An and Japan to exchange and connect for investment and business; at the same time, receive valuable comments from investors so that Nghe An province can do better in connecting and supporting businesses in the coming time”, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said, emphasizing the common goal that businesses benefit, Nghe An province develops quickly and sustainably, Nghe An children have income and good jobs, contributing to building Nghe An increasingly rich, civilized, truly worthy of being the center of over 10 fields of the North Central region.
Strongly promote Nghe An - Japan cooperation
Within the framework of the conference, delegates listened to Mr. Kondo Noboru - CEO of BWG give a speech with the theme "Joining hands to build the future of the Earth, new cooperation between emerging countries and Japan", affirming that the 67th EGA Business Conference held in Nghe An is an opportunity for exchange and connection between Nghe An enterprises and enterprises from Japan.
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| Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Dinh Thien - former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, Deputy Head of the Socio-Economic Development Advisory Group of the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An province called on Japanese investors to speed up so as not to miss the opportunity to invest in the potential land of Nghe An. Photo: Thu Giang |
Also at this event, talking with Japanese delegates, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien affirmed that Vietnam has emerged as a "star" in attracting investment in recent years. The State highly appreciates the role of the private economic sector, and has been making strong reforms in policies and institutions, changing the strategy of attracting FDI towards strategic, long-term, quality investors, of which Japanese investors are one of the typical standards.
The former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute and currently Deputy Head of the Advisory Group of the Provincial People's Committee Chairman added that Nghe An has its own strengths in the eyes of foreign investors. In the coming time, the province's orientation is to consider Japan as one of the leading, strategic investors, and is eager and ready to welcome Japanese investors.
Meanwhile, JICA representative in Vietnam assessed that Nghe An has very high potential in the agricultural sector, recommending that the province should focus on agricultural products that are its strengths, dig deeper, and apply high technology to bring Nghe An agricultural products to a higher level, increasing the value of agricultural products.
“JICA wishes to help Nghe An become a destination to attract investment from Japan, not only in the agricultural sector but also in tourism and many other fields,” said Murooka, Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office.
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| The presiding delegation exchanged with Japanese and Nghe An enterprises at the conference. Photo: Thu Giang |
The conference also took time to organize a question and answer session between the presiding delegation including Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa, Director of the Department of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Thanh, Executive Director of BWG, Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office with Japanese and Nghe An enterprises.
Many opinions agreed and welcomed Nghe An province's initiative to organize the Conference "Connecting Nghe An - Japan Enterprises", considering this a valuable opportunity to meet and connect information. Many delegates discussed enthusiastically, shared information, assessed the situation, and proposed measures to strongly promote Nghe An - Japan cooperation. Some delegates hoped that Nghe An would continue to promote administrative procedure reform, improve the investment environment, and create favorable conditions for businesses...
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| Representatives of Japanese businesses interested in Nghe An products were displayed and introduced on the sidelines of the conference. Photo: Thu Giang |
On the sidelines of the conference, exchanges, meetings and connections took place enthusiastically, showing that the need and potential for cooperation between the parties is still very large in the coming time.