Thanh Hoa is facing the opportunity to attract investment and comprehensive cooperation with Japan

DNHN - With its advantageous geographical location, traffic, conditions, and human resources, Thanh Hoa is ripe for socioeconomic development through investment attraction, trade, and networking. These are also ideal investor attraction factors.

Thanh Hoa has been a perfect investment opportunity for Japanese investors.

Since Vietnam opened its doors to foreign investment, Japan has consistently topped the list of nations and territories with registered investments in Vietnam. Vietnam's institutions, laws, and transparency have been gradually improved in conjunction with integration, not only creating conditions for investors to operate on a long-term basis but also assisting businesses in their participation in supply chains and chains. favourable global value.

According to recent statistics, approximately 2,000 Japanese companies are developing business activities in various industrial fields in Vietnam The cumulative total of all investments has reached $65 billion.

Thanh Hoa is a gateway province connecting the North to the Central region, resembling Vietnam in miniature with its three distinct geographical regions: mountains, plains, and coastline. Thanh Hoa is situated on important national traffic routes, including the North-South railway, National Highway 1A, National Highway 217, Ho Chi Minh Road and the North-South motorway; Tho Xuan Airport is slated to become an international airport;...

Nghi Son economic zone is located in Thanh Hoa province and has a total area of 106,000 hectares. It is one of the eight groups of key coastal economic zones of the country and was constructed to become a multi-sector, multi-sector economic zone. The zone's focus is on the development of heavy industry associated with the Nghi Son deep-sea port, which can accommodate ships of up to 250,000 tonnes. In addition, Thanh Hoa plans to develop 19 industrial parks with a total area of 6,045 ha by 2030 and 6,805 ha after 2030. Nghi Son Economic Zone and industrial zones in Thanh Hoa province have attracted 71 valid FDI projects with a total registered investment capital of USD 13,631,000,000 to date. There are thirteen projects with Japanese FDI capital totalling 12,554 billion USD, accounting for 92.1% of the total. Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex with a capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil per year, registered capital of more than US$ 9 billion (Japan's capital contribution is 35.1%); Nghi Son II thermal power plant with a capacity of 1,200 MW, registered investment capital of US$ 2.793 billion; Nghi Son Cement Plant with a capacity of 4.3 million tons/year, registered investment capital of US$ 621.9 million.

In addition, the province of Thanh Hoa has a population of nearly 4 million people with a tradition of diligence, so it has an abundant and well-trained labour force to meet the needs of investors. The province of Thanh Hoa has always prioritised administrative procedure reform and fostering a business- and investment-friendly environment. Increasing investments and upgrades to the technical and social infrastructure system have created favourable conditions for investors during investment research, project implementation, and operation.

Thanh Hoa province has become an ideal investment destination thanks to the available real estate and the support and facilitation of the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee and related departments, agencies, and sectors. investors, including Japanese investors.

The potential, cooperation, and development between Japanese enterprises and Thanh Hoa province are enormous. Numerous international investors, particularly Japanese investors, are drawn to the province of Thanh Hoa due to its abundance of new opportunities. Typically, retail group AEON plans to begin construction on a shopping centre this year, with an anticipated opening date of 2025. The Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam also hopes that the successful implementation of this project will foster a favourable climate for investment solicitation in the province.

According to Mr Nakagawa Tetsuyuki, General Director of Aeon Mall Vietnam Co., Ltd. at the Thanh Hoa - Japan Connection Conference in 2023, Aeonmall Vietnam Co., Ltd. Vietnam. After analysing the market's potential and growth potential, the Company has developed a strategy and road map to expand trade centres in 18 provinces/cities throughout Vietnam. Thanh Hoa is one of the Company's selected, researched, and developed economic centres.

Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee and Japan Aeon Mall Group signed a memorandum of understanding at the Vietnam - Japan Investment Promotion Conference regarding the implementation of investment in the Aeon Mall project in Thanh Hoa, with a total investment of approximately 190 million USD.

Mr Nakagawa Tetsuyuki added that the Aeon Mall Vietnam Supermarket project implemented in Thanh Hoa province promises to make a positive contribution to enhancing the quality of goods and services supplied to Thanh Hoa residents; have a spillover effect, encouraging related industries and professions in the supply chain to develop vigorously shortly. Simultaneously, the project is not only a commercial centre, but also a place for cultural exchange, learning experiences, and a centre for training high-quality human resources for the commercial sector, thereby contributing to integrating Thanh Turned into Aeon Mall's global system chain.

Possibilities for cooperation and human resource growth

Shortly, the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam will promote ODA projects in Thanh Hoa province and assist in providing foreign investors with information on the province's potential strengths and cooperation needs. Japanese corporations and businesses; In the field of human resource cooperation, the Ambassador encouraged workers and trainees from Thanh Hoa to work in Japan.

In Japan, up to 85 internships are available in seven major industries, including agriculture, electronics, construction, food processing, textile and mechanical metal, and seafood processing. According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan will require an additional 630,000 foreign workers by 2030 to compensate for the labour shortage. There are currently five labour export enterprises in Thanh Hoa province that are permitted to send interns to technical internships in Japan, and over forty enterprises are recruiting workers in the province.

Approximately 12,000 Thanh Hoa interns are currently employed in Japan, primarily in the following fields: manufacturing, construction, mechanics, garment, nursing, nursing... Approximately sixty per cent of the labour force consists of skilled workers. Japanese businesses value Thanh Hoa interns for their diligence, inventiveness, eagerness to learn, and the speed with which they can acquire new technologies and techniques. Each year, Thanh Hoa workers in Japan have brought home 20 to 30 million USD in foreign currency, equivalent to 470 to 700 billion VND.

The Japanese market continues to lack human resources, particularly skilled and highly qualified individuals. Due to its rapidly ageing population, Japan has a massive demand for human resources. On the other hand, the development of the strategic cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Japan is also creating significant opportunities for Vietnamese workers in general and for those in Thanh Hoa in particular. To effectively exploit this potential market, however, it is necessary to have specific and practical policies, the most important of which are a training policy that meets market demands and credit support for foreign workers who wish to work in Japan. Additionally, the Japanese government implemented several policies to attract human resources and expand employment opportunities, opening up more fields and industries to workers.

Tadashi Manpower Joint Stock Company was founded in 2013 and has since provided between 600 and 800 labourers annually to the Japanese labour market. Thanh Hoa's source of labour accounts for more than 90 per cent of the company's total number of employees leaving the country. Shortly, the company will continue to coordinate with the districts, towns, and cities of the province to recruit, train in languages, techniques, and legal regulations, and employ market-ready labourers. Japan. Coordinate with Japanese labour unions to expand and diversify occupations for Vietnamese workers in general and for the province of Thanh Hoa in particular.

Possibility to construct a programme of cooperation for tourism development

Thanh Hoa is a possible destination for international tourists in general and Japanese tourists in particular, in addition to its potential for cooperation and investment in the fields of services, trade, and tourism. According to a survey conducted by the ASEAN-Japan Centre, the three aspects of Vietnam that most satisfy Japanese tourists are the cuisine, the landscapes, and the historical sites.

Thanh Hoa has exceptional marine tourism resources, including Cua Than Phu, Truong Le Mountain, Sam Son Beach, and Tien Ngu Lagoon, among others. In addition, a system of historical and cultural relics has unique and diverse values in outstanding genres such as the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage of Ho Dynasty Citadel, Lam Kinh Special National Monument and Le Hoan Temple, Ba Trieu Temple...; Thanh Hoa's intangible cultural system is also very diverse and unique, with its nuances of 7 ethnic groups, with approximately 300 traditional festivals, many folk games, and customs. The development of Thanh Hoa's tourism to international visitors, including a large number of Japanese tourists, will be aided by the city's customs, traditional craft villages, and extremely rich cuisine.

According to Mr Ha Van Sieu, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Thanh Hoa should capitalise on its capabilities and strengths to create breakthrough opportunities for recovery and sustainable development shortly. The viability of tourism in the province. Thanh Hoa and Japan must share a tourism focal point to explore opportunities for cooperation and create favourable conditions for each other to attend events hosted by the two countries. Together, the two parties develop an annual programme of cooperation and cooperation in tourism development, with a focus on exchanging information, organising cultural exchange activities, festivals, and events, organising promotional activities, surveying the market, and exchanging visitor sources between destinations to help businesses grow.

Dong Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee Secretary Do Trong Hung stated that Thanh Hoa Province desires to strengthen comprehensive cooperation with Japanese partners in building smart cities, e-government, education and health, human resource development, and labour. Thanh Hoa province is committed to assisting Japanese investors, businesses, and partners in evaluating and implementing investment cooperation activities.

Ngoc Lam