Hiroyuki Ishige, chairman and CEO of JETRO, said: “The investment environment in Viet Nam has improved in recent years, especially improvement in administrative formalities and customs procedure that has attracted a high number of Japanese companies.”

ASEAN’s new Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi submitted 10 proposals with three pillars, with the aim to deepen the “Responsive ASEAN” concept, and to strengthen existing businesses, and create and adopt innovative technologies.

To realise the 10 proposals, the federation and JETRO will jointly conduct JETRO’s business survey and provide information to develop patent examination guidelines, according to the representatives.

Among others, JETRO said it had proposed conducting business surveys and providing analysis tools for deepening ASEAN economic community development.

Keiichi Kadowaki, chairman of the federation, said: “The federation is the biggest business federation consisting of investors in ASEAN. We can be the good eye of ASEAN, see what is happening and be a good mouth of ASEAN, to jointly stress ASEAN centrality.”

“We always stand by ASEAN, to support all its commitments to create a community with a high level of liberalisation and standards,” he said.

The federation consists of 10 Japanese chambers of commerce and industry in nine ASEAN member states, except for Brunei.

As of June, the federation had 7,284 member companies, including 1,791 members in Viet Nam, which is the highest number in ASEAN.