Vietnam is a prime destination for Japanese businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a representative from the Japan Business Association in Vietnam (JBAV) said at a forum on Tuesday.

As many as 50 percent of Japanese SMEs that are considering outbound investment want to come to Vietnam, Nguyen Van Tau told the event in Hanoi, citing survey results from business associations in the East Asian country.

Quoting statistics from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Tau said some 2,400 Japanese investors visited the JETRO office in Ho Chi Minh City to study investment chances in Vietnam between April2011 and January 2012.

“The Ho Chi Minh City unit was the second-most visited out of 73 JETRO offices across the world during the period,” Tau said.

The JBAV representative added that Vietnam is currently the top priority for Japanese businesses when they decide to shift production from China to another country.

But Tau added that Vietnam has not attracted as much investment from Japanese SMEs as it should because the country lacks specific plans to lure this category of businesses.

Vietnamese businesses also face difficulties in ensuring an adequate workforce to meet demands by their Japanese partners, Tau added.

Investment attraction has also been impeded by complicated administrative procedures, conflicting tax and customs regulations, and a poor localization ratio, according to Dinh Ngoc Hai, chairman of the Vietnam Business Association in Japan.

“This will discourage Japanese investors, especially the SMEs,” Hai said.

The Tuesday forum was organized in a bid to resolve the problem of a lack of information for Japanese businesses when investing in Vietnam, according to newswire VTV, operated by national broadcaster Vietnam Television.

Japanese investors also say the infrastructure and services in Vietnam are not suitable for their operations, while there is no official body to link businesses from the two countries together, according to VTV.

“We will offer online consultancy services as well as directly connect businesses from the two sides,” Tau said.

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