The issues related to the public-private partnership (PPP) form in Vietnam were the focus of a forum held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) and Japanese heavy industry group IHI Corporation on October 8 in Hanoi.At the forum themed “Vietnam 2020 and Beyond: Modernization for the Next Stage of Growth”, FIA Director Do Nhat Hoang said that Japan had been the leading economic partner and investor of Vietnam. He also stressed that the contribution of Japanese companies through direct investment and official development assistance were important additional resources that would improve Vietnam’s infrastructure system and enhance its economic competitiveness.
According to IHI Corporation’s president and chief executive officer Tamotsu Saito, Japanese enterprises are greatly interested in Vietnam’s infrastructure and seaport projects in the PPP form, but they encounter obstacles of the public sector. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation pointed to investment risks such as problems in policies, foreign currency conversion and capital reimbursement.They also suggested the Vietnamese government create the most favorable conditions for Japanese firms, particularly a transparent and consistent legal framework.To ease Japanese investors’ worries about the conversion of foreign currencies under PPP projects, the Ministry of Planning and Investment proposed that the investors take into account all risks before starting their projects and may raise service charge rates and product prices without using banking channels when exchange rates fluctuate.In Vietnam, IHI is currently involved in a number of important projects, including the Nhat Tan bridge, Binh bridge and Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City railway system upgrading.-
