Ms. Motoko Iwami delivering a speech

JBIC co-hosted with the Japan Institute for Overseas Investment (JOI) the FDI Seminar 2011: Recent Trends and Outlook of Japanese Foreign Direct Investment on January 28, 2011. Following the opening remarks by President Shinichi Jin of JOI, presentations were made respectively by Ms. Motoko Iwami Senior Analyst, Research & Analysis Dept., JOI on “Recent Developments in Japanese FDI”, Senior Economist Toshiharu Mimura of JBIC's International Research Office on “Outlook for Japanese Foreign Direct Investment: Results of JBIC 2010 Survey”, and Project Associate Prof. Youngwon Park, Manufacturing Management Research Center(MMRC), Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo on “Global Strategy of Korean Firms”.

Ms.Iwami said, “Over the period from the first quarter to the third quarter of 2010, the Japanese non-manufacturing sector made greater foreign investment than the manufacturing sector did, and higher Japanese FDI flowed into M&A than the establishment of new bases. Since FDI in the Asian market provides higher returns, Japanese firms are making investment primarily in Asia.”

  Project Associate Prof. Youngwon Park, The University of Tokyo

In the speech delivered by Mr. Mimura of JBIC, he drew on the data from the Survey Report on Overseas Business Operations by Japanese Manufacturing Companies (FY2010 questionnaire survey), in which JBIC annually polled Japanese manufacturers “who have three or more overseas subsidiaries”. Mimura described which countries or regions are considered as promising for overseas business operations over medium-term, trends in overseas business operations of Japanese firms and how Japanese and foreign companies were competing in the emerging markets. Then he referred to the result of the additional survey conducted in the wake of the Senkaku Islands incident with regard to the future prospect of doing business in China.

Project Associate Prof. Youngwon Park pointed out in his speech: “Samusung, Hyundai-Kia and LG Electronics, the three major Korean firms conducting business activities in the global market, share some success factors in common: They sought business opportunities overseas because the country's market size is not as large as Japan's; they built up an information network by making use of IT technology, which enabled them to have a panoptic view of the business landscape; and their owner/CEOs were willing to take risks and able to make speedy investment decisions.”

JBIC will continue to provide a variety of information in support of Japanese firms' overseas business development.