This three year project was started in April 1994 in collaboration with the Executive Committee of Vietnam's State Fiscal and Monetary Council (SFMC), which was responsible for advising the Prime Minister and concerned government agencies with regard to the reform of fiscal and monetary policies and systems on Vietnam. The initial aim of the project was to offer assistance to the SFMC with regard to resolving financial and monetary-related policy issues arising from the economic reform process.

However, the SFMC was dissolved in the middle of 1995 when it completed the special mission it was assigned by the Prime Minister. The Government Price Committee has since taken over the role of the SFMC in this project.

In the 1994 fiscal year, three Vietnam-Japan joint study groups were organized to address subjects of key importance to Vietnam's economic development: namely, (1) controlling inflation, (2) reforming the banking system, and (3) establishing a capital market. During the year, these groups each met four times. The "Inflation Study Group" concentrated its work on price mechanisms, and the "Banking Study Group" focused on Japan's development experience including the establishment of its postal saving system. The "Capital Market Study Group" devoted itself to capital market principles and mechanisms, such as securities exchange and government bond issues.

In February 1995, a report entitled "Assistance Program on Reform of Finance and Monetary Policies for Vietnam" was completed. It presented the results of these Vietnam-Japan Study Meetings, and offered policy recommendations to the Vietnamese Government. The report is one of the few documents of its caliber to be published on the topic of economic and fiscal policy reform in Vietnam. Demand for the report was so great among researchers and policymakers in Vietnam that it was later translated into Vietnamese and widely disseminated to interested parties.

In 1995, the Inflation Group did an extensive research, through many interviews, on how the salaries of workers in the state-owned enterprises are determined in Vietnam. It also addressed ways to curb wage increases, and the Banking Group took up the subject of financial systems, such as foreign exchange, in an open economy. The work of the Capital Market Group emphasized legal reform and human resources development in Vietnam. To officially announce the research conducted by these study groups, a report was published in both English and Vietnamese in February 1997.