The remark was made at a forum on how to create a sustainable cooperation relationship between Vietnamese firms and Japanese producers, which was jointly held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Ho Chi Minh City and the Vietnam-Japan Human Resource Cooperation Centre (VJCC), on July 27.
Tsuyoshi Shimizu, an expert from the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA), said that more than 1,600 Japanese firms are operating in Vietnam with nearly 70% of them ready to expand their operations in the near future, which will provide great opportunities for Vietnamese firms.
Japanese manufacturers wish to buy more materials and domestic components from Vietnam but the supply capacity and quality of Vietnamese personnel and goods are the two biggest problems for Japanese businesses, he noted.
In fact, Japanese producers buy only one third of materials made in Vietnam, but mainly from Japanese firms based in Vietnam and FDI firms, while the rate of materials supplied by Vietnamese firms is even smaller, the expert said.
Another expert stated that cheap prices are not the top priority for Japanese firms but rather the quality of products, compliance with delivery deadlines and transparency in the cooperation relations.
Experts agreed that Vietnam should develop more qualified firms specialising in producing materials, components and machines in order to increase the opportunity to join the value chains of Japanese firms.
Several products including steel, copper, aluminium, plastic materials, and electronic components are among the items that Vietnam should promote in the near future.
