HCMC – More and more Japanese enterprises are looking to enter Vietnam as a consumer market rather than a manufacturing base as before, said a consulting company for Japanese investors.
Speaking at a seminar held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in HCMC on Wednesday, Tetsuya Fukumori, vice chairman of Corporate Directions Co. Ltd., said more Japanese enterprises wanted to expand sales in Vietnam.
Companies from both countries earlier cooperated mostly in production or production management but will join hands to promote sales in the future, Fukumori said, and this is expected to be an investment tendency to be embraced by Japanese companies here in Vietnam over the next three years.
The consulting company said many of its Japanese customers sought advice to develop services and trade relations with partners in the country. They will initially target Japanese firms here and then local businesses.
Increasingly large numbers of Japanese companies have bought shares of local firms as they want to deepen their penetration into the local market via the listed enterprises.
Fukumori said a Japanese enterprise’s survey of Japanese firms operating in Vietnam showed 30% of the companies in 2010 carried out trade activities or sold products in Vietnam, which was higher than 2009’s figure of over 25%. Meanwhile, only 20% of them engaged in production activity while the figure was over 20% in 2009.
As the Japanese market is shrinking, its enterprises are focusing on foreign investments. Its population is expected to decline to 90 million by 2055 from 128 million in 2005 with people aged over 65 accounting for 40.5%. Meanwhile, 70% of Vietnam’s population will be under 65 years old in 2055, promising a good manufacturing and consumer market, Fukumori said.
The enterprise also forecast a strong flow of Japanese investment into Asian nations like Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos from this year.
