Hanoi (VNA) - Japanese small- and medium-sizedenterprises are set to invest in Vietnam in addition to capital expansion bymany those already operating in the country.

According to the Ministry ofPlanning and Investment, with investments of 1.9 billion USD as of October,accounting for 10.9 percent of total FDI, Japan is the second biggest foreigninvestor in Vietnam this year.

In mid-November, Toto Vietnam, asubsidiary of Toto Group (Japan), opened a representative office in Ho Chi MinhCity. It is the second office for the company in the country where, afternearly 15 years of operation, TOTO employs over 3,000 employees at itsdistribution agencies.

Masao Yamasaki, general director ofToto Vietnam, said the Vietnamese operation has scored the highest growth ratein the group, with 2015 sales rising by 160 percent and this year’s by 130 percent.

“We would like to have a long-termconnection with this country,” Yamasaki said.

Abayashi Isao, general secretary ofthe Japanese Business Association in HCM City, said Vietnam was attractive toJapanese businesses since Vietnamese customers liked their brands.

According to statistics released bythe Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), nearly 70 percent of Japanesecompanies would like to increase their investment and expand production inVietnam.

The sectors into which Japaneseinvestments have flowed in are diverse, straddling construction,transportation, infrastructure, electronic equipment, property, trading andservices.

More and more Japanese firms havebeen entering the hi-tech agricultural sector.

Hirokata Yasuzumi, chiefrepresentative of JETRO in HCM City, said due to the devaluation of the yen(against the US dollar) and the recession in Japan, investment from his countryinto Vietnam has been declining.

But a closer reading shows that thenumber of Japanese companies investing in Vietnam this year is not down.

“Though total investments have beendeclining, the number of foreign direct investment projects from Japan toVietnam has been on the rise,” Yasuzami said.

“This indicates it is now the timefor investments by Japanese small and medium enterprises (SMEs).”

In a recent report on Japaneseinvestment, the Ministry of Planning and Investment says Japan has 4.7 millionSMEs that are looking for opportunities to invest in other countries, includingVietnam.

He said the Japanese Governmentco-operated with trade promotion agencies and the Vietnamese BusinessAssociation to introduce a web-matching system called J-GoodTech to fostermarket development.-VNA