Tokyo (VNA) – After Vietnam signed abilateral free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), many Japaneseenterprises expressed their optimism about business opportunities that the dealcould bring to the Southeast Asian market.

Mikio Kesagayama, Chairman of the Board ofDirectors of TICC – a business consulting company in Japan, has toldcorrespondents of the Vietnam News Agency in Tokyo that the fresh signing ofthe EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will open up numerous investmentopportunities.

He said the EU is a stable market while Vietnamis a major market with a big population of over 90 million, which is attractiveto many investors.

Kesagayama said that he came to Vietnam over 20years ago when the capital city of Hanoi did not have many cars. However, afterthat, the country’s economy has developed rapidly, he said.

Sharing this viewpoint, Yasutsugu Iwamura,Director General of Aeon Mall Vietnam, said his company has been operating inVietnam for over three years. The company’s business performance is gettingbetter year by year. 

Vietnam’s signing of the FTA with the EU madeinvestors very excited, he said, adding that AEON will diversify its productsand increase the marketing capacity in Vietnam to compete with Europeanbusinesses, he said.

For his part, Kei Kuramochi, a representative ofJapan’s Yaegaki company, revealed that his business aims to pour 50 million USDinto real estate projects in Vietnam.

The signing of the FTA with the EU will helpVietnam’s economy continue developing and create new opportunities forinvestors, he said, adding that it also provides opportunities to deepen andexpand economic links.

Nguyen Viet Thung, Vice President of TMS Group –a partner of Yaegaki in Vietnam, believed that the EVFTA will open up specialcooperation opportunities between Vietnam and the EU member countries.

The EU is a potential market, so the TMS Group willdevise specific cooperation plans with European partners to optimiseopportunities brought about by the EVFTA, he said.

After nine years of negotiations, the EVFTA wasofficially inked in Hanoi on June 30. 

Vietnam is the fourth country in Asia-Pacificand the second in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signingthe deal.

Once the deal takes effect, over 99 percent oftariff on goods from both sides will be removed.-VNA