Event Report
EU-Japan Business Matchmaking with Vietnam
Kick-off Event | 7-9 March 2022

A pilot initiative launched by the EU-Japan Centrefor Industrial Cooperation
To connect Vietnamese, EU and Japanesecompanies and organisations for trilateral joint
projects in Vietnam

Organisers

Partners

In cooperation with• Embassy of Germany in Japan• Embassy of Greece in Japan• Embassy of Slovakia in Japan• Embassy of Hungary in Japan• CzechInvest in JapanTABLE OF CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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CONTEXT

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OUTLINE

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NEXT STEPS

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ANNEX 1: PROGRAMME

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ANNEX 2: EVENT’S LEAFLET

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ANNEX 3: PLATFORM’S HOMEPAGE

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ANNEX 4: INFORMATION ABOUT THE TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (1/2)
Context
Taking into account important business trends over the last years, and following the signature ofthe Partnership on sustainable connectivity and quality infrastructure between the EU and Japan
in 2019, and the EU Japan Green Alliance, the EU Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation has
undertaken business support activities to facilitate the connection between EU and Japanesecompanies for joint projects in and with Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
About the EU-Japan Centre’s initiative
The EU-Japan Centre has more than 10 years of experience in supporting business cooperation
between EU and Japanese companies via the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). It is now
extending its expertise to promote new business opportunities in Vietnam and with Vietnamese
partners with a helpdesk fully dedicated to support EU-Japan partnerships with Southeast Asia,
Africa and Latin America.
About the EU-Japan Business Matchmaking with Vietnam
To support EU-Japan-Vietnam tripartite business cooperation, the EU-Japan Centre organised akick-off event from 7 to 9 March 2022 launching the one-year platform “EU-Japan businessmatchmaking with Vietnam”.
This kick-off event included a webinar presenting the initiative and a two-day virtual businessmatchmaking. As part of the Team Europe approach, the EU-Japan Centre worked closely with EU
Member States’ Trade Promotion Organisations and EU Embassies in Japan.
While business cooperation between EU and Japanese companies in Europe or in Japan is aconcept that is widely understood, the concept of tripartite business cooperation between EU andJapanese companies in Vietnam and with Vietnamese partners is not widely known yet. The EUJapan Centre and its partners aim at promoting opportunities for tripartite business cooperation
thanks to this one-year platform. Throughout the year, the platform will include several webinars
and business matchmaking sessions to showcase opportunities and encourage the connection
between EU, Japanese and Vietnamese companies for trilateral projects in Vietnam.
Possible areas of cooperation
The EU and Japan both agreed to cooperate with partner countries, including in ASEAN, inimproving connectivity in energy, transport and digital projects, as well as in projects contributing
to carbon neutrality and sustainable development.
As for the EU-Japan Business Matchmaking with Vietnam, after consultation with partners inVietnam, Japan and the EU, four areas of activity were chosen for target areas of cooperation on
the platform: infrastructure, manufacturing, smart city and green technology.
Benefits of EU-Japan-Vietnam business cooperation
The above sectors have the potential to create windows for opportunity for EU-Japan-Vietnam
consortia, in which each company can leverage their competitive advantage such as a technology,
market intelligence, a subsidiary or existing network to achieve a joint project.
Vietnam is a market that is being increasingly attractive for both Japanese and EU companies. It
has a free trade agreement with both the EU and Japan, and is being considered more and moreas a good and stable alternative to China for foreign companies wishing to undertake activities inAsia.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (2/2)
Possible synergies between the EU and Japan: joint funding
Funding is important for both EU and Japanese companies when discussing possible joint projects
in a foreign market. This is why synergies between EU and Japanese funding entities to create
joint funding would facilitate business cooperation between EU and Japanese companies inSoutheast Asia. Several EU and Japanese banks or funding agencies have signed Memorandumof Understandings to this effect*. However, the implementation of these MoUs has not been
completed yet, leaving possible EU-Japan joint funding in the pipeline.
Lessons learned
The EU-Japan Centre’s business matchmaking support for EU and Japanese companies in andwith Vietnam is a pilot initiative that started in March 2022 with the launch of the EU-Japanbusiness matchmaking with Vietnam platform.

Following the kick-off event launching the platform, several lessons learned and key points canalready be highlighted to better prepare future activities:•The trilateral dimension of EU-Japan-Vietnam business cooperation is important. EU andJapanese companies collaborate in Vietnam and with Vietnamese partners from the public
and private sectors.

•Cooperation with partners in Vietnam, Japan and the EU, such as chambers of commerce,investment and trade agencies, municipalities and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), wascrucial to ensure the visibility of the kick-off event and will be important again for future
events.

•The language barrier can be a challenge for EU, Japanese and Vietnamese companies todiscuss possible cooperation. While companies interested in finding international partners
should ideally appoint staff speaking English or the language of the target foreign market, theuse of interpretation services was also appreciated by participants attending the kick-off
webinar organised by the EU-Japan Centre.

•An important lesson learned is that the concept of EU-Japan-Vietnam trilateral businesscooperation is not widely known yet. Most companies and business support organisations aremore familiar with traditional bilateral cooperation. However, trilateral cooperation canrespond to the needs of the Vietnamese market by using the expertise of international
stakeholders from Japan and the EU in addition to local experts in Vietnam. For example,
many infrastructure and smart city projects are undertaken by international consortia.
Therefore, the concept of tripartite business cooperation needs to be further promoted,explained, and illustrated by success stories. To address this challenge, the EU-Japan Centre
plans to organise more events and webinars to raise awareness on opportunities and successstories.

* A least 4 MoUs were signed on this matter: (1) MoU between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Japan InternationalCooperation Agency (JICA) in 2019, (2) MoU between the EIB and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in 2018, which wasextended in 2021 (3) MoU between the EIB and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) in 2018, (4) MoU between the EuropeanBank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and NEXI in 2020.

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General context
Following the signature of the Partnership on sustainable connectivity and quality infrastructure
between the EU and Japan in 2019, and the commitment from the EU and Japan to form a GreenAlliance, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation has undertaken business supportactivities to facilitate the connection between EU and Japanese companies for joint projects in andwith Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Substantial data show that tripartite business cooperation in and with Southeast Asia, Africa andLatin America is a growing trend that opens many business opportunities in untapped markets.
More information on this topic can be found below:
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Overview of the conference “EU-Japan business collaborations in third markets” organised by the EU-JapanCentre in 2019.
Report “Analysis of EU-Japan business cooperation in third countries” published by the EU-Japan Centre in2020.
French Japanese Business Summit 2020 focusing on “Growth opportunities in Africa: towards newpartnerships”.
Report “EU-Japan business cooperation in third markets – Focus on the digital economy” published by theEU-Japan Centre in 2021.
Event report about the involvement of the EU-Japan Centre at the Japan-Africa Business Forum 2021.
Annual report “Economic outlook – German Business in Japan” published by the German Chamber ofCommerce and Industry in Japan (AHK Japan). The chapter “Business in third markets” presents key numbers
about business cooperation between German and Japanese companies outside Germany and Japan. Read thereport for 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
EU-Japan-Africa Mission 2022. Report available here.
Case studies of trilateral business cooperation between Africa, the EU and Japan available here.

EU-Japan-Vietnam tripartite business cooperation
After successful experiences in supporting matchmaking activities between EU, Japanese andAfrican companies during the 3rd Japan-Africa Business Forum and the 7th EU-Africa Business
Forum, the EU-Japan Centre has extended its scope to Southeast Asia.
A pilot initiative to support EU-Japan-Vietnam tripartite business cooperation was launched inMarch 2022 with the one-year platform EU-Japan business matchmaking with Vietnam.
The kick-off event launching this one-year platform included a webinar and two days of virtual
business matchmaking for registered participants. The full programme of the event is available
here and the recording of the webinar is available here.
The EU-Japan Centre has substantial experience in organising matchmaking events between EUand Japanese companies via the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and it is now extending its
expertise to promote new business opportunities in Vietnam and with Vietnamese partners.
In April 2022, the EU-Japan Centre launched a new helpdesk supporting and promoting EUJapan partnerships with Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. This helpdesk will organise
other events of the EU-Japan-Vietnam platform to showcase more opportunities for cooperationand encourage the connection between EU, Japanese and Vietnamese companies for trilateralprojects in Vietnam.
6OUTLINE
From 7 to 9 March 2022, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation organised a kick-off
event launching the 1-year platform “EU-Japan business matchmaking with Vietnam”.

ContentsFormat

1 webinar

Fully virtual

2-day virtual
matchmaking

https://eu-japan-vietnam2022.b2match.io/home

Objective

Support the connection between EU,
Japanese and Vietnamese companies
and organisations interested intrilateral business cooperation for joint
projects in Vietnam.

Target business segments

Infrastructure

Manufacturing

Smart CityGreentechnology

EU participants taking part in the event

Belgium

Germany

GreecePortugal

Lithuania

SwedenSpain

Hungary

Estonia

Romania

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

Output•••••

1 webinar that gathered 30 attendees – Recording available here2-day virtual business matchmaking with 19 meetings arranged
69 individual participants representing 54 companies/organisations
Feedback shows that 50% of the meetings could result in “possible cooperation”
Increased visibility of Vietnam-EU-Japan tripartite business cooperation
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NEXT STEPSThe EU-Japan Centre will follow up with the participants of the business matchmaking event andprovide further support if requested.
The virtual platform “EU-Japan Business Matchmaking with Vietnam” will be open for one year.
Registration for eligible companies and organisations will be possible throughout the year andregistered participants will be able to arrange meetings with other participants at any time of theirconvenience.
Other events will be organised on the platform to showcase more opportunities for cooperation.
Business matchmaking sessions will be organised to foster the connection between EU, Japaneseand Vietnamese companies to discuss trilateral projects in Vietnam. The EU-Japan Centre
considers organising a second event on the platform around mid-2022.
Because the concept of EU-Japan-Vietnam trilateral business cooperation is not widely known yet,it needs to be further promoted, explained, and illustrated by success stories.
• Future events organised on the platform will also aim at further promoting the business trendof EU-Japan-Vietnam trilateral business cooperation.
• The EU-Japan Centre considers creating a list of case studies of Vietnam-EU-Japan trilateralbusiness cooperation that would be available on its website.
The EU-Japan Centre will keep working on supporting EU-Japan business cooperation in Vietnam
and with Vietnamese partners from the public and private sectors.

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ANNEX 1: PROGRAMMEThe full programme of the event is available here.

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ANNEX 2: EVENT’S LEAFLET

10ANNEX 3: PLATFORM’S HOMEPAGE
The platform is accessible here: https://eu-japan-vietnam-2022.b2match.io/home

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ANNEX 4: INFORMATION ABOUT THE TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS
Eligible participants for this platform have to be entities headquartered in Vietnam, Japan, oneof the 27 EU Member States or a country participating in the former COSME Programme.

Participants

Total
54 companies/organisations(representedby 69
individualparticipants)

EU / COSME
Participants

Japanese
Participants

VietnameseParticipants

30

1410Austria
BelgiumCzech Rep.
EstoniaFranceGreece
Hungary

11411213

Lithuania
Portugal

11

Romania
Spain
SwedenUkraine

1211

Large
companies

14374

SMEs

24

1644

Noncompanies

12

102/Clusters

411212