Japanese textile maker Suminoe Textile will set up an electric carpet plant in Vietnam. The factory will produce electric heating appliances such as electric carpets and blankets. Electric heating appliances are one of Suminoe’s key products in the functional goods business. Suminoe made its first foray into the overseas business in 1994 by establishing a plant in Thailand. It now has 14 bases in seven countries, including the United States, India and Indonesia.

Japanese firms are scaling up investment in Vietnam’s textile and garment sector. Japanese company Matsuoka produces casual apparel in Vietnam to be exported to Japan and China. The company has chosen Vietnam for capital injection and production expansion in recent years to take advantage of the opportunities anticipated to be brought by new-generation free trade agreements such as the EVFTA and the CPTPP. Matsuoka has three plants in Vietnam with one more coming up. The firm’s medium-term business plan intends at minimising its dependence on China by nearly 50 per cent by March 2021 by shifting its focus to Vietnam from China, where production costs are on the rise. Sakai Amiori, another Japanese company, has opened an export apparel production plant. The influx of foreign direct investment has the benefit of turning Vietnam into a global manufacturing base.