********************************************************************* Issue 75 [July 2013] OCCI e-Magazine http://www.osaka.cci.or.jp/e/index.html ********************************************************************* [CONTENTS: July 2013] 1. Small and medium-size businesses in Osaka exhibited at the gBusan Global Start-up Investment Festival 2013h 2. gEquinixhfrom the U.S. expand New International Business in Osaka 3. Results of theg50th Management and Business Trend Surveyh-- high standard of BSI reflects a bright prospect for the future 4. The results of the questionnaire on the use of EPAs & FTAs for Participating companies in the Kansai EPA Monthly ===================================================================== 1. Small and medium-size businesses in Osaka exhibited at thegBusan Global Start-up Investment Festival 2013h The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry supported exhibitions by companies from Osaka at thegBusan Global Start-up Investment Festival 2013h, which was held from June 20 to 22 in Busan, South Korea, by establishing the Osaka Booth with cooperation of the Busan Chamber of Commerce & Industry. This exhibition, which is held to provide businesses seeking up-and-coming companies and franchises from South Korea, China and Japan with opportunities to get together and to introduce their new products and services to each other, attracted approximately 30 Japanese companies from Osaka, Fukuoka, and Kita-Kyushu. From Osaka, 10 companies specializing in such business as food, drinking water, beauty treatment products, printing, trading, heat exchangers, and cram schools participated in the exhibition and actively engaged in searching for agents, extending their markets, and advertising their products targeted at Korean companies and general consumers visiting the exhibition. In particular, products and services which were still absent from the South Korean market attracted attention of visitors. This brought about a certain expectation for future development. ===================================================================== 2.gEquinixhfrom the U.S. expand New International Business in Osaka On July 9, the Osaka Business & Investment Center (O-BIC: Comprised of the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Osaka Prefectural and Municipal governments; Secretariat: International Division of the OCCI) announced the entry into Osaka of Equinix Japan, which is the Japanese corporation of Equinix, a company boasting a No.1 global market share in data center services. Equinix Japan will establish the first global data center in western Japan, in central Osaka in cooperation with K-Opticom Corporation, and KANDEN ENERGY SOLUTION Co., Inc. (Kenes) within the year 2013. Managing Director Kei Furuta of the Japanese corporation expressed his ambitions, saying gAfter forming a stronger global network hub in Osaka, an IT infrastructure perfect for foreign companies trying to enter Osaka will be completed. We would like to play a part in the further globalization of Osaka.h O-BIC has so far invited more than 300 companies since its establishment in 2001. This case is a project that will serve as a model for the invitation of foreign investment in order to create added values of Osaka through cooperation between foreign-affiliated companies and companies in Osaka. O-BIC will continue to provide support for the establishment of Equinix's data center. ===================================================================== 3DResults of theg50th Management and Business Trend Surveyh-- high standard of BSI reflects a bright prospect for the future The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Kansai Economic Federation have jointly conducted agManagement and Business Trend Surveyhin every quarter of the year in order to judge business conditions and to understand the actual condition of business management among their member companies. The two organizations announced the results of the most recent survey, which was conducted from late May to early June, targeting 1,652 companies (No. of respondents: 442 companies; effective response rate: 26.8%). For the question about domestic economic activities from the April to June term, responses ofgIncreasehandgDecreasehcompared to the January to March term accounted for 53.1% and 7.3% of the total, respectively. This led to 45.8 on the Business Survey Index (BSI), a 23.8-point increase from 22.0 in the previous survey and a significant increase of two quarters in a row. As a BSI value, this has become the second-highest since the initiation of the survey (the highest value is 47.5, achieved in the survey of December 2005). Also in the future, this high standard (47.4 of BSI for the July to September term and 43.6 of BSI for the October to December term) is expected to remain stable, which shows a significant expectation for economic recovery. For the question about the comprehensive judgment of their own business conditions, the result expectation of BSI in the April to June term was 8.2, a 9.9-point increase from -1.7 in the previous survey, which was the first increase in the past 22 quarters since the survey of December 2007. As for the responses according to company size, while BSI around large companies was 10.3, a figure which remains unchanged from the previous survey, BSI around small and medium-size businesses was 6.1, an increase of 17.7 points from the previous survey. This seems to show a trend in which the economic recovery is not only affecting large companies but also small and medium-size businesses. For the question about capital investment plans in fiscal 2013, companies planning the investment in FY 2013 accounted for 54.3% of the total, a 7.8-point increase from 46.5% in the survey conducted in fiscal 2012. This shows a trend where companies have become active in capital investment because of the bright prospect for the future. Regarding the question of the target regions of their investment, gKinki regionhaccounted for 75.8%, followed by 27.5% forgTokyo metropolitan area,h19.2% for gSoutheast Asia,hand 17.5% for gOther domestic areas.h Companies investing ingSoutheast Asiahincreased 1.9% compared to the figure in fiscal 2012, while those investing ingChinahdecreased by 5.5%. This shows a trend in which more companies are warding off the China risk. ===================================================================== 4DThe results of the questionnaire on the use of EPAs & FTAs for Participating companies in the Kansai EPA Monthly In June this year, jointly establishing thegKansai EPA Monthly,hthe Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry held seminars and a symposium intended for providing explanation on conventional EPAs (Economic Partnership Agreements) and for introducing wide-area (multilateral) FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) under negotiation, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); and consultation meetings for local companies on EPAs & FTAs. A total of 455 representatives from companies in the Kansai region participated in those events. Of those representatives, 334 participants responded to the questionnaire for the survey on the concern and utilization of EPAs & FTAs. The survey results are as follows: 1) Outline of the participating companies (A) While small and medium-size businesses accounted for the majority (50.3%), large companies accounted for about a third of the total (32.3%). (B) By the type of business, the manufacturing industry accounted for approximately 60% (59.9%), followed by 18.6% for trade houses, and 12.0% for others (transportation, financial businesses, etc.) 2) State of utilization of EPAs & FTAs and types of fields attracting interests (A) The rate of utilizing EPAs was 50%, followed by 16.2% for the responsegHoping to utilize them,h and 15.3% for the responsegConsidering utilization.h (B) For the question about the types of fields attracting interests (multiple choices), while the responsegExport from Japanhoverwhelmed the other responses with the percentage of 78.4%, the responsegImport to Japanhremained 26.0%. There were also responses that showed interest in triangular trade excepting Japan (e.g. ASEAN-China FTAs) which accounted for 21.9% of the total. (C) For the question about the reason for interest in such utilization, the response gReduction in the physical distribution costhaccounted for 46.1% of the total, followed by 29.9% forgRequest from the importers,hand 26.9% forgTo cultivate shares in Asian markets.h 3) Countries and regions interested in EPAs & FTAs (A) EPAs (multiple choices): 59.6% for Thailand, followed by 48.8% for Indonesia, 32.3% for Vietnam, and 29.0% for ASEAN countries and Malaysia. (B) FTAs under negotiation (multiple choices): FTAs among Japan, China, and South Korea (35.9%) slightly outnumbered TPPs (34.1%). While FTAs between Japan and EU accounted for 15.9%, RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) remained 14.4% of the total. (C) Necessary information in the future (multiple choices): The focuses of the responses weregInformation on EPAs and FTAs under negotiationh(41.9%) andgInformation on multilateral FTAs such as TPPh(37.1%). 4) Problems of EPAs & FTAs With regard to the problems concerning EPAs & FTAs, the responsegDifficult to deal with the Rules of Originhaccounted for 26.9%, followed by 23.1% forgDifficult to obtain clear information on TPP and other agreements,hand 19.2% forgDifficult to obtain information on FTAs between third countries without Japan.h O-BIC as one-stop service center for creating a foothold in Osaka http://o-bic.net/ Osaka Business & Investment Center (O-BIC), established in 2001, is operated through the joint efforts of the Osaka Prefectural Government, Osaka City Government, and Osaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry. As your one-stop service center for business investing, O-BIC provides a comprehensive yet detailed support system. International companies, foreign government offices and economic organizations as well as foreign-capitalized companies located in Japan are welcome to use the center to obtain accurate information and essential advice for creating a foothold in Osaka. For further information, please contact: o-bic@osaka.cci.or.jp = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Chief Editor : Shinji MARUYAMA, Director of International Division, OCCI Mailed by : Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, International Division Address : 2-8 Hommachi-bashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan 540-0029 Tel : +81-(0)6-6944-6400 Fax : +81-(0)6-6944-6293 Contact Persons : Kazuko KAMADO (Ms.), Hikaru KOHAMA (Mr.) Back Numbers of OCCI e-Magazine: http://www.osaka.cci.or.jp/e/mail/index.html = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = * Please contact us through the email (kohama@osaka.cci.or.jp) to inform us of your change of e-mail address, or of your wishes not to receive OCCI e-Magazine.