President Akimitsu Ashida told reporters in Hanoi yes­terday that his company would focus on eight services in Vietnam, comprising port logistics, forwarding, seamen’s training, ship repair, marine piloting, transship­ment and tourist services.

Ashida said the shipping line operator would decide the time and the scale for each investment plan depending on conditions available in the country.

He noted Vietnam's trans­port market had reached high growth owing to the fast in­crease in the number of foreign investors. Besides, Ashida forecasted there would be an influx of big Japanese inves­tors to Vietnam in the future.

Therefore, the company plans big investments to tap business opportunities here, he said.

"Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) is carrying out a research for building a depot in Cai Mep port complex in the southern province of Baria-Vung Tau. Besides, we plan to join forces with local partners in training sailors there," Ashida said.

The top leader of MOL also said his company had se­lected Vietnam as the desti­nation for building a ship re­pairing center.

The center should be able to meet 10% of demand on maintenance and repair for the national fleet of 750 vessels now and 900 vessels in 2009, he said, adding MOL experts were looking for a location in Baria-Vung Tau.

"MOL wants to establish a closed-cycle service network in the transport sector to help saving cost and enhancing investment efficiency, par­ticularly in Vietnam where in­frastructure is poor and cost is high," Ashida said.

He added many investors were facing logistic and in­frastructure problems. There­fore, the Vietnamese Govern­ment should take full advantage of ODA loans financed by Japan for improving infra­structure.

After 10 years opening its representative office in Viet­nam, MOL has seen business grow 64 times in forwarding. The volume in goods trans-port is expected to amount to 6,400 containers this year, generating an estimated rev­enue of 4 billion Japanese yen.

MOL owns a fleet with total capacity of 41.5 million DWT. The company's turnover is targeted at US$ 14 billion this year, with profit expected at USS1 billion.