Aug 05, 2013

Hitachi Announces Establishment of Hitachi Asia Vietnam

~ Further strengthens Hitachi’s position for growth in Social Innovation Business in Vietnam ~ 

Ho Chi Minh City, August 05, 2013 — Hitachi Asia Ltd. today announced the establishment of its subsidiary Hitachi Asia (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. in Ho Chi Minh City, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, allowing Hitachi to further expand its Social Innovation Business in Vietnam. Established with an initial capital of approximately US$ 500,000, the company has started operations in August 2013.

“Vietnam’s economic growth provides plenty of business opportunities for Hitachi in fulfilling the market demand for social infrastructure products, services and solutions,” said Yukio Toyoshima, Managing Director of Hitachi Asia Ltd. “The establishment of the Vietnam subsidiary will let Hitachi to further intensify its business in the country and to better serve its customers in this key market. Hitachi will now have the flexibility to invest in facilities and to expand operations including social infrastructure, power systems and IT systems.”

In recent years, Vietnam has attracted a lot of foreign direct investment (FDI) and Official Development Assistance (ODA) from other countries and Japan accounts for a sizable proportion in both FDI and ODA to the country. Of the total US$ 13 billion FDI to Vietnam last year, US$ 5.1 billion was from Japan representing 40% of the total FDI. Meanwhile, the total committed 2012 Japanese ODA to Vietnam was JPY 286 billion (more than US$ 2.9 billion).

In June this year, Hitachi entered into an order contract, valued at approximately 37 billion yen, with the Management Authority for Urban Railways of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City for the construction of Vietnam’s first urban railway in Ho Chi Minh City. Hitachi is to deliver subsystems including 17 train sets (total: 51 cars), signaling system, telecommunication system including wireless train radio system, and power supply system, as well as platform screen doors, automatic fare collection system, and depot facilities. Hitachi is also scheduled to undertake five years maintenance work after the start of commercial operations, of which details are to be stipulated in a separate agreement at a later stage. The new urban railway is scheduled to begin operations in early 2018.

“With Hitachi’s extensive products and services, our continued business activities as exemplified by the setting up of Hitachi Asia Vietnam will contribute in the development of the Vietnamese society especially as it aims to become an industrial country by 2020,” said Nobuyuki Nakamura, General Director of Hitachi Asia (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. “We are now more than ready to meet and satisfy our Vietnamese customers’ social infrastructure requirements.”

In 1972, Hitachi exported the electric power facility to the Can Tho power generation plant and established the representative office in Ho Chi Minh City in 1994 and Hanoi in 1996. Since then, it has marketed a wide range of products, services and solutions for various industry sectors like home appliances, infrastructure systems, IT systems and others.

To further boost its brand awareness, Hitachi has unveiled its marketing communications campaign in the Vietnamese market in May until August 2013 under the slogan “SOCIAL INNOVATION – IT’S OUR FUTURE”. Seen in Vietnamese TV, print and outdoor media, the new Hitachi campaign endeavors to build the brand as a global company in the Social Innovation Business.