Established in September 2017, the working group comprises 14 members with Vice Chairman of the Can Tho city People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoai Nam as its head and Kyoshiro Ichikawa, Director of I.B.C Vietnam Co., Ltd as its advisor. The group will collect information about Japanese enterprises operating in Can Tho and partner with the local authorities to roll out solutions to support them, while introducing cooperation and investment opportunities of Can Tho and the Mekong Delta to Japanese firms.
According to Nguyen Khanh Tung, Director of the Can Tho Investment-Trade Promotion and Exhibition Centre, by the end of September 2017, Japan had been Vietnam’s second largest foreign investor. 

In Can Tho alone, four projects funded by Japanese ODA to the tune of over VND7 billion (US$308,000) have been completed since 2013, he said, adding that in the first eight months of 2017, Can Tho exported US$59.4 million worth of products to Japan while importing US$11.2 million from the country. 

Vice Chairman of the Can Tho city People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoai Nam said Can Tho is calling for investments in a number of projects, with priority given to Japanese partners. They include a high-tech agriculture project with estimated capital of US$26 million in Co Do district, an industrial infrastructure project for Japanese firms in O Mon district, a centralised IT area and a logistics centre, both in Cai Rang district. 

Japanese businesses investing in these projects will receive the best support from the city, he promised.

The 59th Asia Business Conference took place within the framework of the third Vietnam-Japan Cultural Festival.