The Deputy PM made the statement during a reception for Masaaki Yamada, the managing executive officer and global head of the Energy and Natural Resources Finance Group at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), in Hanoi on March 7, during which he expressed his joy at the fruitful development of the Vietnam-Japan relations.
Dung highlighted that the bilateral relations are experiencing a period of strong and comprehensive development across all fields, especially in economics, trade, and investment.
Bilateral and multilateral agreements would bring many new opportunities to both sides’ enterprises, he said.
Deputy PM Dung noted that Vietnam is calling for investment in the prioritized fields of infrastructure and energy development, and appreciated the role of JBIC in these spheres.
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Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung (R) receives Mr. Masaaki Yamada. |
In recent years, JBIC has provided loans to promote Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam, especially for developing key infrastructure systems and large-scale energy projects such as the Nghi Son Petrochemical Refinery complex; as well as the Nghi Son 2, Vinh Tan 4, and Duyen Hai 3 thermal power plants.
As a financial policy institution under the Japanese Government, JBIC has also joined policy dialogues with Vietnam’s ministries and sectors.
While appreciating the new cooperation suggestions of JBIC, Deputy PM Dung proposed that the Japanese bank promote negotiations to soon implement those cooperation plans.
He also asked JBIC to consider expanding loans for Vietnamese businesses or joint ventures between Vietnamese and Japanese firms, helping them promote investment in Vietnam.
For his part, Massaki Yamada said projects using JBIC loans are being implemented effectively.
The bank is focusing on technology transfer projects and encouraging Japanese small- and medium-sized enterprises to invest and expand their business and operations in Vietnam, he stressed.
He noted that JBIC is likely to arrange bigger loans for Vietnamese firms, especially those developing substantial infrastructure and energy projects.
Japan has affirmed its role as one of the leading economic partners of Vietnam. The country is the biggest provider of official development assistance (ODA) capital to Vietnam with the total amount of USD 30 billion, as well as the second largest foreign investor in Vietnam with some 4,200 projects valued at USD 57 billion.
The East Asian country has always been one of the top four among the more than 200 trade partners of Vietnam. The two sides hope to lift bilateral trade to USD 60 billion in 2020.
According to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), up to 70 percent of Japanese enterprises interviewed wanted to invest in Vietnam, while 66.6 percent of Japanese firms operating in Vietnam plan to expand their production and business activities.
Source: VNA