Hanoi (VNA) — Japan’s Juroku Bank Ltd will open arepresentative office in Hanoi in the time ahead after getting a licence from theState Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in early February.

On February 2, SBV issued License No 32/GP-NHNN, permitting Juroku Bank toestablish its representative office in Hanoi for five years.

Accordingly, the office will function as a liaison office for marketresearch and promotion of investment projects of Juroku Bank in Vietnam.

The office will promote and monitor the implementation of contracts andagreements signed between the bank and credit institutions and businesses, aswell as the bank’s financed projects in Vietnam.

It will also address the demand for loans from Japanese companies operating inVietnam, especially those in the Tokai sub-region, where the bank’sheadquarters is located.

The opening of the bank is a new opportunity for Japanese investment in Vietnamin 2018, with a predicted wave of investment coming from local, small andmedium enterprises instead of giant corporations.

In a recent interview to the Vietnam Government Portal, Karashima Hiroshi,President of Japan Business Association in Vietnam (JBAV), said Vietnam wasemerging as the No. 1 market in Asia for Japanese investors, as evident from asurvey by Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The number of JBAV’s memberenterprises investing and operating in Vietnam has increased by 1,750companies (second only to Japanese firms in Thailand).

This partly shows that the business efficiency of Japanese firms in Vietnam isapproaching closer to and catching up with those operating in Thailand, Hiroshisaid.

Last year, Japan was the largest investor in Vietnam among 115countries and territories with investment projects worth 9.11 billion USD inthe country. -VNA