A workshop to discuss the cooperation between Da Nang and Japan on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) took place in Da Nang on Thursday.  The event was part of the Da Nang ICT Day 2016, which was held in the city from 8 - 9 September.

At the seminar

The workshop was attended by over 160 members from domestic and international business associations, along with 37 Japanese experts and investors.

The Japanese experts expressed their satisfaction with Da Nang’s comfortable living environment, and many of them said they are intending to establish their companies or representative offices in the city.

Mr Tsuginori Furukawa, Chairman of the Japanese Business Association in Da Nang cum Director of the Japan Computer Software company at the city’s Software Park, remarked “Choosing Da Nang as the place to establish our company was a good decision because from here we can easily travel to other Vietnamese localities, and to other countries”.

Participating Japanese businesses stressed the need for the city authorities to further develop local infrastructure systems and enhance public services, as well as simplify customs procedures to attract more Japanese investors to the city.

Mr Yoshitaka Kurihara, the senior advisor to the Japan External Trade Organisation's Ho Chi Minh City Office remarked “Da Nang should send its IT employees to Japan to learn about the country’s new business models.  When they return to the city, they will be able to apply their acquired knowledge to implement local projects effectively.  Thanks to this, the city will attract more Japanese IT projects with great potential”.

In reply, Investment Promotion Centre Director Le Canh Duong said “Many of the city’s universities and junior colleges are cooperating with local businesses to provide training courses on the Japanese language for local IT students.  The intention is to meet the increasing demand of Da Nang-based Japanese businesses for recruiting employees who are fluent in Japanese”.

Municipal People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh affirmed “My city is taking various measures to effectively enhance the city’s investment climate.  The focus is on building synchronous infrastructure systems at local IT parks, issuing more preferential policies for foreign businesses, and accelerating local administrative reforms.  Also, importance is being attached to training high-quality ICT human resources who can speak foreign languages fluently”.

Vice Chairman Minh vowed that the city authorities would create very favourable conditions for Japanese businesses to operate effectively in the city.

Currently, Japan takes the lead amongst the city’s foreign investors with 112 projects, worth 397 million USD in total, which have together created around 30,000 jobs for people from Da Nang and its neighbouring localities.

According to the latest statistics released by the Investment Promotion Centre, as of August, the city had attracted a total of 55 FDI projects in ICT, with a total investment of 12.5 million USD, and Japan accounted for 24 of them.