Representatives from approximately 100 Japanese companies arrived in the economically vibrant city of Can Tho in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta on Thursday in search of new investment opportunities.

The representatives, along with many Japanese government officials and organizations, boarded a direct charter flight from Tokyo to Can Tho International Airport, hoping the trip would yield opportunities to enter Vietnam’s bustling food and produce, IT, traffic infrastructure construction, and financial consultancy industries.

These fields are very new to the Mekong Delta, and the challenge for the region’s 17 million people is to show its potential to the Japanese, many of whom are visiting Vietnam for the first time, according to Nguyen Phuong Lam, director at the Can Tho-based office of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an agency supporting domestic corporate growth.

A Japanese corporate representative passes through immigration control at Can Tho International Airport in Can Tho City, southern Vietnam, November 1, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Though the Mekong Delta has a history of poor infrastructure and human resource issues, it has been steadily improving, Lam said, adding that he believes the region will see an influx of Japanese investment in the near future.

The Japanese entrepreneurs will identify investment possibilities and join the fourth Vietnam-Japan cultural and business exchange held locally from November 1 to 4.

The Japanese companies’ arrival follows a meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo in early October.

The premiers then attended the tenth Mekong-Delta Summit Meeting, also joined by leaders of countries that the Mekong River crosses: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

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