Not only contributing to the trade connection between the two countries, the aviation industry also opens up opportunities for investment cooperation for investors in Vietnam and Japan.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has appointed Mr Koji Shibata, Senior Vice President, Asia – Pacific Strategic Director to be a member of the Board of Directors at Vietnam Airlines Corporation. (Vietnam Airlines). It showed the respect and high appreciation of the cooperation opportunities of the leading Japanese aviation corporation. Mr Koji Shibata also represented the capital and exercised the rights and obligations of ANA with 107,668,938 shares, equivalent to 8,771% charter capital of Vietnam Airlines.
Ealier, on July 1st 2016, ANA has transferred to Vietnam Airlines the amount of 109 million USD to complete the company’s largest offshore investment transaction, and officially became a strategic shareholder of Vietnam Airlines.
According to Mr Pham Ngoc Minh, Chairman of Vietnam Airlines, ANA is truly a strategic partner, capable of cooperating, supporting and accompanying Vietnam Airlines in the process of developing and expanding the market, upgrading quality, service and corporate governance.
Currently, Vietnam Airlines flight routes are connecting to 20 domestic destinations, 29 international destinations with high frequencies and concentrating to connect through gateway airports in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, participating in exploiting large customer flows in the region, directly competing with major transit centers such as Hongkong, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the Greater Mekong Subregion. In addition, Vietnam Airlines is operating 66 flights a week to Japan, while ANA has not cooperated with any airline for the same flight route.
As known, in addition to passenger transport, another aviation sector which is attracting the attention of Japanese investors is the air traffic management.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the Japanese party is proposing the establishment and operation of a special purpose company (SPC) to collect, analyze and provide information for air traffic management for relating companies. The SPC will be a joint venture with 51% Vietnamese capital and 49% Japanese capital. This model is being considered by the Vietnamese authorities, considering for implementation.
In addition, the investment in the Long Thanh International Airport project (Phase I), worth 3.53 billion USD project is still open to international investors, including Japanese companies, those who pursue this project from the first days.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, based on the current agreements, the two countries’ airlines are allowed to operate without restrictions between destinations in Vietnam and Japan (except Haneda Airport in Tokyo). Currently, three Japanese aviation corporations that are ANA, Japan Airlines and Vanilla Air are operating five routes from Tokyo (Narita and Haneda) to two destinations in Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City), with a total frequency of 42 flights/way/week.
Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines is the only Vietnamese airline that operate the Vietnam – Japan flights, but with great frequency. As of the end of January 2017, Vietnam Airlines is operating 10 flights from three destinations in Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang to 4 destinations in Japan: Tokyo (Haneda/Narita), Nagoya, Fukuoka and Osaka, with a total frequency of up to 66 flights/way/week. Furthermore, Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific have been licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to operate flights from Hanoi/Da Nang to Osaka in 2017.
To sum up, in 2016, the total air transport between the two countries reached nearly 2 million passengers, increased by 18.6% over the same period in 2015, with an coefficient of average seat use of 80%, of which Vietnam Airlines has transported 1.28 million passengers, accounting for 66% market share, with coefficient of average seat use of over 82.2%.
Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.
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