Japanese apparel maker Matsuoka Corp will build a plant in Vietnam as part of a medium-term strategy to reduce reliance on China. The firm will set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, Annam Matsuoka Garment Co, possibly in August, to build and operate the plant in the Nghe An province. Details of the launch date and production capacity are yet to be worked out. The new plant will be Matsuoka’s fourth plant in the country after one each in the northern provinces of Phu Tho and Bac Giang and the southern province of Binh Duong. Like the three other plants, the new plant will make apparel on an original equipment manufacturer basis, A Japanese news agency quoted Matsuoka spokesman Michihiro Fukagawa as saying. Matsuoka hopes to begin operations in Nghe An at an early date, he said. The firm’s medium-term business plan calls for reducing its reliance on China by half by March 2021 by shifting its focus to Vietnam from China, where production costs are on the rise, Fukagawa said. Matsuoka sees Vietnam as a key production base for casual apparel bound for Japan and China, the spokesman said, adding the firm’s Bangladesh arm manufactures inner wear and working wear.
