Japan tops ranks of foreign investors in Hanoi

Ranking first in Hanoi FDI

Nguyen Duc Chung spoke at a seminar on cooperation in investment and tourism promotion between Hanoi and Japan on March 10 in Hanoi. He noted with satisfaction the gradual strengthening of ties between the two countries in more than 40 years since they established official relations.

Hanoi, he said, attaches great importance to promoting cooperation in all fields with Japan. Japan currently leads the countries and territories investing in Hanoi with more than 800 projects with total registered capital of around US$5.2 billion. In addition to large corporations, Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises have been effectively operating and significantly contributing to the capital’s socio-economic development.

Nguyen Duc Chung also called on Japanese enterprises to invest in high-tech agriculture, urban railways, support industries, human resource development, tourism, and high quality medical services in Hanoi.

Nguyen Doan Toan, deputy chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee, informed investors about the capital’s investment attraction directions. Among those he mentioned: - promoting investment in technical infrastructure and urban railway projects; - developing bridges across the Red River and waste treatment areas, and environmental protection programs in the valleys of the To Lich, Nhue, Day and Tich rivers; - building clean agricultural infrastructure and high-tech agriculture areas; - investing in health, education and training to improve the quality of public services.

Hanoi will also focus on tourism development in order to turn it into a key economic sector. The capital plans to welcome 30 million visitors, including 5.7 million foreigners, and hopes to generate VND120 trillion in tourism revenue by 2020, with an annual growth of 15-17 per cent till then.

More parks needed

Katsuro Nagai, an envoy of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, said that Japanese companies want to continue promoting investment in the north, including Hanoi, in order to take advantages of high-quality human resources and potential consumer market. Given that Hanoi is promoting the development of transportation infrastructure to facilitate connection to other provinces, Japanese firms are also eyeing Hanoi tourism.

Japan is currently considering an increase of its official development assistance (ODA) capital for Vietnam, he said. Nguyen Duc Chung said that the city has planted 270,000 trees since 2016, particularly along the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai route, marking an important landmark in Vietnamese-Japanese relations. He also said that Hanoi will develop 20-25 large parks by 2020, including three to five international-standard parks.

Construction of as many as eight large parks was started in 2016, including the 135-hectare Kim Quy Amusement Park. In addition, Hanoi is developing some reservoirs to make the capital more beautiful. The capital is also planning two flower exhibition areas associated with ecotourism, covering a total area of 50-70 hectares along the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai route.