Japanese bank to open office in Hà Nội

HÀ NỘI — Japan’s Juroku Bank Ltd will open a representative office in Hà Nội next month after getting a licence from State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) in early February.

On February 2, SBV issued License No 32/GP-NHNN, permitting Juroku Bank to establish its representative office in Hà Nội for five years.

Accordingly, the office will function as a liaison office for market research and promotion of investment projects of Juroku Bank in Việt Nam.

The office will promote and monitor the implementation of contracts and agreements signed between the bank and credit institutions and businesses, as well as the bank’s financed projects in Việt Nam.

It will also address the demand for loans from Japanese companies operating in Việt Nam, especially those in the Tokai sub-region, where the bank’s headquarters is located.

The opening of the bank is a new opportunity for Japanese investment in Việt Nam in 2018, with the predicted wave of investment coming from local, small and medium enterprises instead of giant corporations.

In a recent interview to the Vietnam Government Portal, Karashima Hiroshi, President of Japan Business Association in Vietnam (JBAV), said Việt Nam was emerging as the No. 1 market in Asia for Japanese investors, as evident from a survey by Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The number of JBAV’s member enterprises investing and operating in Việt Nam has increased by 1,750 companies (second only to Japanese firms in Thailand).

This partly shows that the business efficiency of Japanese firms in Việt Nam is approaching closer to and catching up with those operating in Thailand, Hiroshi said.

Last year, Japan was the largest investor in Việt Nam among 115 countries and territories with investment projects worth US$9.11 billion in the country. — VNS