Feature Article Regional banks’ overseas development support strategies 4
Born out of the 2010 merger of the Senshu Bank and the Bank of Ikeda, the Senshu Ikeda Bank, Ltd. is based in the Kansai region of western Japan, centered on Osaka and Hyogo prefectures. “Many of our clients are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but this region has always had thriving overseas trade,” says MIYATA Koji, the bank’s Senior Managing Executive Officer.
“Many of our clients, especially those in the electrical and electronics, textile and chemicals, machinery and metals, and auto-related industries, have long been expanding overseas in response to the moves of major companies.”
“Unlike large corporations, many SMEs lack specialized departments for overseas business. We provide a broad range of support for our clients’ overseas business deployment, including loans, foreign exchange and remittance services, and risk hedging instruments to their parent companies and overseas affiliates. We also offer information on the local investment environment, various regulations and legal systems, and tax and accounting matters, as well as introductions to foreign personnel and public support systems. Our President and CEO is also even deepening relations with consul generals in the Kansai region.”
The aerosol plant in Zhangjiagang, China of Daizo Corporation, headquartered in Osaka, is supported through co-financing with JBIC.
The bank has representative offices in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and partners with local banks throughout Asia.
“We opened our local office in Suzhou partly because it is twinned with our local city of Ikeda. There are also many large-scale industrial parks around Shanghai, and as the only regional bank with an office there, we have used our relations with the Suzhou government to support our clients to expand into that area. We also opened a Vietnamese office in response to our clients’ keen interest in that market.”
However, given the limited resources and overseas presence of the bank, collaboration with JBIC plays a key role in supporting international expansion.
"We deeply appreciate JBIC’s efforts over the years, which allow us to draw upon its extensive overseas network, valuable local insights, broad expertise in international operations, and support services. JBIC’s cooperation comes in various forms. When signing an agreement to co-finance a project by Mitsuboshi Co., Ltd. to manufacture and sell synthetic resin extrusion products in the Philippines, staff from JBIC's Osaka Branch even accompanied us on a business trip there. Additionally, for a personnel dispatch services project in India by MORABU HANSHIN Industry Co., Ltd., JBIC's New Delhi Representative Office provided us with extensive local information.”
Osaka is drawing increasing attention from around the world as Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan approaches. Beyond that are ambitious plans for the development of an integrated resort. The Senshu Ikeda Bank, which remains dedicated to fostering trust with local companies, will further support the overseas business development of SMEs while utilizing external resources such as JBIC.
