TOKYO (Nikkei)--Companies from India, Brazil and other emerging markets owned stakes in 120 Japanese firms as of August, according to data released Monday by Teikoku Databank Ltd. The ranks of Japanese companies with interests held by emerging-market firms -- including Russia, South Africa and Turkey, but not China -- were up 46.3% from five years earlier. Wholly owned units set up to serve as local branches in Japan accounted for the bulk of investments
Hopes for technological tie-ups with Japanese companies also spurred spending. For instance, Thai Summit Autoparts Industry Co. acquired a stake in auto press die manufacturer Ogihara Corp.Investment in Japanese firms with sales networks and technological prowess is likely to increase, says Teikoku Databank.
India led the way with stakes in 38 firms. Companies from Thailand and Malaysia owned interests in 27 and 22 businesses, respectively. Wholesalers were the biggest target, with 50 receiving investments from emerging-market companies. Service firms followed at 36, two-thirds of which were software developers.
Source: The Nikkei Sept. 7
TOKYO (NQN)--The number of companies that went under with debts of at least 10 million yen dropped 14.3% on the year to 1,064 in August, the 13th straight month of year-on-year decline, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said Wednesday. The figure includes firms that were cut off by their banks.
Liabilities totaled 188.92 billion yen, down 33.5% and falling under 200 billion yen for the first time since October 1990, when debts amounted to 150.12 billion yen. Total debts continued to decrease for the seventh straight month last month. The number of bankruptcies and total liabilities fell sharply due to government financial aid efforts including the emergency guarantee system and comprehensive measures to facilitate financing for small firms.
Increased exports on the back of economic growth in emerging markets also helped. There were only 31 large-scale bankruptcies with debts of at least 1 billion yen -- the least this year - which contributed to total liabilities under 200 billion yen. It was the first time since September 1990 that there were no firms that went out of business with debts of at least 10 billion yen.
Source: The Nikkei Sept. 8
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Japan's current account surplus grew 26.1% from a year earlier in July to Y1.676 trillion, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday, marking the first gain in three months and boding well for the nation's export-led economic recovery.
The rise beat a 12.8% on-year increase forecast by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei. In June, the surplus narrowed 18.2% from a year earlier.
The current account is the broadest measure of Japan's trade with the rest of the world, and measures trade in goods, services, tourism and investment. It is calculated by determining the difference between Japan's income from foreign sources against payments on foreign obligations and excludes net capital investment.
Source:The Nikkei Sept. 8
GENEVA (Nikkei)--Japan rose two places on the year to come in sixth overall in the 2010 global competitiveness ranking unveiled Thursday by the World Economic Forum.
Japan's public sector got poor marks, especially for the size of its debt, but its private sector was rated highly enough to lift the nation's overall ranking. The improvement also stemmed from a fall in the rankings of European countries hit by the Greek sovereign debt crisis.
Of the 139 countries and regions surveyed, Japan ranked 137th in the outstanding balance of government debt. It did not place dead last only because the debt of the two countries below it could not be calculated. Japan ranked 134th in the government budget balance and 91st in the effectiveness of fiscal spending.
The nation's private sector performed far better, with its companies ranking first in value added by manufacturers, strength of distribution channels, manufacturing sophistication and customer service.
They came second in technological innovation and number of patents owned.
Switzerland retained the top spot overall, while the U.S. slipped two places to fourth, hurt by the impact of the financial and economic crises. Sweden rose to second. Singapore came in third, clinching the highest spot among Asian countries. South Korea dropped three places to 22nd, and China rose two positions to 27th.
In a 2010 global competitiveness survey published in May by prominent Swiss business school IMD, South Korea and China ranked higher than Japan. That survey gave more weight to the size of government debt and government efficiency.
The World Economic Forum ranking was based on key economic indicators and a survey of global business leaders. The Geneva-based organization is best known for its annual meeting of business leaders and others in Davos, Switzerland.
Source:The Nikkei Sept. 9
TOKYO (Kyodo)--Japan and India broadly agreed Thursday to form a bilateral free trade deal that would eliminate tariffs on 94 percent of trade between the two Asian powerhouses in 10 years, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said.
Following negotiations that started in 2007, the agreement is likely to be inked during the planned visit to Japan by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in late October. If concluded, the accord will be the 12th such trade deal for Japan.
An FTA aims chiefly to remove tariffs on goods and trade barriers for services, but also covers areas such as intellectual property rights and facilitation of human exchange. Through such arrangement, Japan wants to spur its economic growth through increased exports of cars and auto parts to India, a market that has a population of 1.2 billion people -- the second largest after China -- but accounts for less than 1 percent of Japan's total trade in value terms.
In the negotiations, Tokyo had asked for a reduction of tariffs on car parts, its key export item to India, while India was calling on Japan to simplify the approval procedures for the sale of generic drugs and expand job opportunities for Indians hoping to work in Japan. Japan has apparently been rushing to complete the negotiations with India as it is lagging behind South Korea, which has sealed an FTA with India.
South Korea has also signed an FTA with the United States, although it has yet to take effect, and initialed another with the European Union. But Japan is not even able to commence FTA negotiations with such major trade partners. Japan's heavily-protected farm sector is often considered to be a major stumbling block for the country to negotiate FTAs with farm product exporters.
Okada said the Democratic Party of Japan-led government has especially focused on promoting free trade, and that it wants to make headway in negotiations with other countries as well. The FTA with India would be the first such deal since the DPJ-centered coalition wrested power from the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in September last year.
Source:The Nikkei Sept. 9
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The government will encourage the rebuilding of aging condominiums as part of its new economic stimulus package, The Nikkei learned Wednesday. The plan includes 100 deregulation measures for revitalizing Japan that encompass six areas -- urban regeneration, environment and energy, medicine and nursing care, tourism and regional revitalization, strategies for making Japan a more open economy, and child care and others.
The deregulation of condominium building rules will involve easing the floor area ratio requirement and allowing open space that is now required to be set aside on the building plot to be located somewhere else. These changes are expected to take effect during the current fiscal year.
Another proposal would exempt container data centers from the building standards law by the end of the current fiscal year. This is an effort to facilitate the smooth establishment of data centers as demand climbs amid the ongoing cloud computing boom.
Proposals in the area of tourism include waiving the requirement to have a reception area at lodging facilities, enabling ordinary houses to be used as accommodations, as well as making it unnecessary for hotels to obtain permission to offer guests tours on hotel buses. The plan also calls for creating a visa category by the end of the year for those visiting Japan for medical treatment, bringing the date forward by three months compared with an existing plan.
Sharply expanding a program that encourages environment-related companies to set up operations in certain locations by offering subsidies is also part of the new economic stimulus plan. The program currently covers manufacturers of lithium ion batteries and LEDs, but autoparts makers that help reduce vehicle weight and storage battery developers will likely qualify for the program under the new rule.
The stimulus plan also aims to simplify export procedures. To this end, the government is expected to submit a draft revision to the customs law during next year's Diet session. In addition, the plan proposes a roundtable conference consisting of representatives from the government, business and workers as a platform for discussing measures for promoting foreign investment in Japan.
Compiled under the leadership of Government Revitalization Minister Renho, the new economic stimulus plan is expected to be put before the cabinet for its approval at a meeting on Friday.
Source: The Nikkei Sept. 9
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Seniors with money and leisure time are increasingly health conscious, performing easy exercises at home and in gyms, according to a survey by the Nikkei Institute of Industry and Regional Economy. The survey, conducted in June, focused on people between the ages of 20 and 69 in the Tokyo and Osaka regions. Asked to choose, from eight categories, things that help them stay healthy, 48.2% said a good sleep, topping a nutritious diet, at 44.2%, and exercise and sports, at 41.7%. Those surveyed were allowed to give multiple responses.
Men were found to be more physically active than women. Close to 50% of men indicated they exercise. Of men in their 60s, 55.1% said they exercise. Meanwhile, the survey found that more women try to eat a nutritious diet. The survey also found a growing desire among both men and women to maintain a youthful appearance. Among male respondents, 33.2% said they want to look younger than their age, while 52.5% of female pollees indicated the same sentiment.
According to the survey, people with time and money are more conscious about exercising. Walking was found to be the most common form of regular exercise, with 41.4% of those surveyed indicating they take walks, followed by other easy-to-do forms of exercise such as stretching, sit-ups and push-ups. Walking was also chosen by most respondents as a form of exercise they want to start in the future.
According to the survey, the percentage of those who walk frequently is highest among people in their 60s. That is because people in this age bracket have more leisure time than those in other age groups. The survey also found that an increasing number of people in their 60s enjoy walking for leisure purposes.
The growing popularity of walking is pushing up pedometer sales. The number of people in their 50s and 60s who own pedometers is especially high. According to leading health monitor maker Tanita Corp., the domestic pedometer market expanded from 4.01 million units in 2005 to about 6 million in 2009.
Asked where they exercise, 6.5% of those surveyed said they go to private fitness clubs and 6.2% indicated they use public sports facilities. A total of 11.8% exercise at either private or public facilities.
The percentage of gym-goers is high among those interested in maintaining a youthful appearance and those who are well-off and have plenty of leisure time.
The survey received 805 responses, 505 from Tokyo and 300 from Osaka.
Source:The Nikkei Marketing Journal Sept. 8
TOKYO (NQN)--The Japanese government on Friday morning upgraded its April-June real gross domestic product figure to an annualized expansion of 1.5% year on year, in line with market predictions. The revision, up from a preliminary reading of a 0.4% expansion, is largely attributed to the 1.5% increase in capital spending. It appears that the economy is mostly growing at cruising speed.
Given that the government stimulus measures, including subsidies for environmentally friendly cars, will wind down in phases, we will eventually experience eleventh-hour sales bumps and post-stimulus dips, mainly in sales of consumer durable goods. That may make it difficult for us to predict future GDP readings.
For the July-September quarter, consumer spending may surge, as the scorching summer heat helped boost sales of summer products, and the eco-friendly car subsidies galvanized the auto industry. But for the October-December term, it is hard to forecast the extent to which businesses will suffer a sales hangover.
On the capital spending front, there will be an incremental rise in such outlays, given that companies have long reined in such investment. As a whole, the economy will continue to grow at an annualized rate of 1-2% through the January-March term, the final quarter for fiscal 2010.
Source: The Nikkei, September 10, 2010
TOKYO (Kyodo)--The following is the gist of Japan's fresh stimulus package approved Friday by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan to address the yen's rise and downside risks to economic growth.
The government:
-- will spend 915 billion yen in reserve funds from the fiscal 2010 budget.
-- expects 9.8 trillion yen worth of effects on the overall economy.
-- aims to create 200,000 new jobs.
-- expects to boost gross domestic product by 0.3 percent in real terms.
-- asks the Bank of Japan to further ease monetary conditions.
-- will draft a supplementary budget depending on economic conditions.
-- will step into the market to stem the yen's rise when necessary.
-- will extend deadlines of some incentive programs to boost private consumption.
-- will accelerate efforts toward a range of deregulatory steps.
Source: The NikkeiSeptember 10, 2010
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The economic recovery that began in spring 2009 will likely stall in the October-December quarter, according to a majority of the 10 private-sector economists polled by Nikkei Inc.
Seven leading economists said the economy will enter a lull sometime in the quarter, while two said the economy will have already stalled by the end of September. Yuji Shimanaka of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. said Japanese corporations will reduce inventories from the October-December quarter through the April-June period of next year. Others believe that the end of government subsidies for buying eco-friendly cars will hurt sales, resulting in production cuts at automakers.
"The U.S. and Chinese economies will slow down and global information technology demand will top out," said Yasuo Yamamoto of Mizuho Research Institute, citing other negative factors for October-December.
The appreciation of the yen will hurt the Japanese economy, several economists said. The economists on average predict that Japan's real gross domestic product will shrink 0.2% in the October-December period. If this forecast proves correct, it would be the first contraction since the July-September quarter of 2009.
Meanwhile, Ryutaro Kono of BNP Paribas Securities (Japan) Ltd. said that a recovery in exports, mainly to emerging markets in Asia, will prevent the Japanese economy from stalling at all. Other economists predicted that overseas economies will help the Japanese economy start growing again in fiscal 2011.
The government decided Friday on economic stimulus measures to deal with risks stemming from the strengthening yen and other factors. Takahide Kiuchi of Nomura Securities Co. was among the many economists who predicted that the move will only have a limited effect. However, few of the economists called for increased spending, citing the nation's severe fiscal situation. Several recommended lower corporate taxes and deregulation to stimulate growth.
Source: The Nikkei Sept. 11
The Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
Source : http://www.depthai.go.th