Hanoi (VNA) – As the Vietnamese economy is forecast to continueits high growth in 2018, more Japanese firms are likely to invest in the country,said Hironobu Kitagawa, chief representative of Japanese External TradeOrganisation (JETRO) in Hanoi.

In an interview with Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) newspaper,Kitagawa noted that as of 2017, Japanese investors poured 49.46 billion USD into3,599 projects in Vietnam, ranking second in foreign investors in the countryafter the Republic of Korea.

Last year, Japan led 115 countries and territories investing in Vietnam withtotal registered capital of 9 billion USD, accounting for 25 percent of all foreigndirect investment (FDI) in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s economic growth in 2017 reached 6.81 percent, exceeding thetarget of 6.7 percent. This year, the economy is forecast to continue to grow,thus attracting Japanese investment, asserted Kitagawa.

Regarding Japanese firms’ investment plans, he said investors areinterested in not only the industrial sector, but also other fields.

According to the World Bank’s Vietnam Report 2035, the current200-billion USD economy of Vietnam will rise to nearly 1 trillion USD in 2035, andmore than half of its population will be middle class. This is a strong motivationfor Japanese firms to invest in Vietnam’s service market, he held.

Vietnam’s agriculture is also a promising sector as the demand for safefarm produce is high, he added.

However, he said that weak support industry is a major obstacle hinderingVietnam from attracting Japanese FDI. He suggested that policies be needed to developthe support industry.

Mentioning JETRO’s efforts to connect Vietnamese and Japanese firms, Kitagawasaid that JETRO recently provided Vietnam with a list of Japanese investors inVietnam with demand for support industry.

At the same time, JETRO has held meetings for enterprises of both sidesto share information on the kinds of spare parts that Japanese enterprisesneed.

These activities will continue in the coming time, thus strengtheningthe connectivity between business communities of Vietnam and Japan and creatingspaces for support industry firms to develop, he stated.-VNA