Feature Article Regional banks’ overseas development support strategies 6
Based in Fukuoka Prefecture, located in the northern part of Kyushu, Nishi-Nippon City Bank was created in 2004 through the merger of the Nishi-Nippon Bank and Fukuoka City Bank. The regional bank is currently a core subsidiary of Nishi-Nippon Financial Holdings.
Proximity to Asia is a key feature of Fukuoka. For example, it is located approximately equidistant from Hiroshima and Busan, Osaka and Seoul, and Tokyo and Shanghai.
“We can always sense Asia. Many of our inbound visitors are from Asia, and because of our nearness, we serve as a product showcase for the Asian market,” says KURIHARA Takeshi, the bank’s representative executive director.
Participating as an exhibitor in a consultation event on overseas business development. Consultations cover a broad range of areas, from the expansion of overseas business and sales channels to foreign personnel and real estate.
In terms of overseas expansion, businesses in Kitakyushu City tend to come from the manufacturing sector, and in Fukuoka City, the service sector. Particularly notable is the growing interest in overseas expansion among food and beverage companies, sparked by inbound demand.
The key overseas destinations are in Asia: China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Among the 1,000 or so of the bank’s clients developing business overseas, 900 have established operations in Asia.
Until around 2010, there was a clear trend for expansion to China, which was called the “world's factory,” but this has changed dramatically over the past decade. While there still are companies expanding their business to China to target domestic demand, an increasing number are expanding into other Asian countries and regions that are showing robust economic growth.
“Regarding Kyushu as a whole, inquiries about Taiwan are increasing, due in part to TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor company, setting up business in Kumamoto,” KURIHARA explains. “We’re also seeing more interest in ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. In particular, the food and beverage industry is accelerating business expansion to Singapore, as operating in territories with high average incomes is crucial to its success. In other countries as well, the sight of local people enjoying food at Japanese restaurants has become commonplace due to rising average incomes. We expect this trend to strengthen in the coming years.”
The bank has representative offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and has built a network of financial institutions throughout Asia to support the expansion of MTEs and SMEs into Asia. Assistance is also provided for their overseas development by strengthening cross-border support through collaboration with JBIC, such as co-financing and providing information on local legal systems and business environments.
While also leveraging its geographical location at the “crossroads of Asia,” Nishi-Nippon City Bank is expanding paths for business from Kyushu to the rest of Asia.
