********************************************************************* Issue 72 [April 2013] OCCI e-Magazine http://www.osaka.cci.or.jp/e/index.html ********************************************************************* [CONTENTS: April 2013] 1. OCCI's project outline in FY 2013 2. Results of survey concerning the influence of an electricity price increase on business management 3. Opening of English language website to provide information on night tours! 4. Changes of board members, and the FY2013 OCCI International Division Staffers and their Regions ===================================================================== 1. OCCI's project outline in FY 2013 This fiscal year is the final year of implementation of the Plan for Osaka Metropolis of Endless Visitors, the three-year medium-term project vision that OCCI has declared since the year before last. To improve the achievements, OCCI will continue to powerfully promote the five strategic projects and various business activities for strengthening the five foundations. Main projects are as follows: (1) Project to be a City of Tourism and Entertainment › Promotion of tourism with Osaka Castle as the core › Strengthening the attraction of Osaka's waterfront, mainly in Nakanoshima › Expanding consumption from shopping by inbound tourists › Support for revitalization of the metropolis › Support for efforts to expand inbound tourism (2) Project to Form a MEDICAL POLIS › Creation of an International Medical Polis › New Business Creation Project for the food, housing and service industries based on medical-related institutions › Promotion of industry-academia-government cooperation and inter-industry cooperation both inside and outside Japan by implementing theeMedical Device Industry Forum', etc. › Promotion of industry-academia-government cooperation and inter-industry cooperation based on the DSANJ (Drug Seeds Alliance Network Japan) Business Meetings, categorized by target disease and by country (3) Project to be a Hub for Export of Water Infrastructure › Promotion of gwater businessh in Osaka/Kansai through public-private partnerships › Participation in the Osaka Water & Environment Solutions Association (4) Project to be a Hub for Research & Development for Environmental / New Energy Industries › Cooperation in promotion of the Kansai Innovation Strategic Comprehensive Special Zones › Promotion of environmental contribution-type industries for the global market › Cooperation with Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry's Neo Exciting Electronics & Energy Technology (Project NEXT) (5) Project to Open Up Rising Nations' Markets › Support for information provision & cultivation of markets based on the Platform for Opening Up Rising Nationsf Markets E Providing information and individual consultation for small and medium-size businesses, which are considering or expanding entry into rising nations E Dispatching missions overseas, providing support for exhibiting overseas, and arranging business talks with overseas companies E In preparation for dismantling tariffs in principle in the ASEAN region, OCCI will hold practical business study sessions concerning local corporate management in order to support the expansion of overseas investments and profits and revitalization of local corporations in Osaka. E Establishing a workshop regarding business targeting Islamic regions, which require consideration given to religious aspects, and providing support for entry in Islamic markets. E Improving product planning and designs that meet the needs and requirements of markets in rising nations as part of support for small and medium-size manufacturing businesses to open up overseas markets E To prevent problems in overseas development by small and medium-size businesses, OCCI will study measures to promote utilization of the Arbitration System. › Providing support for business in China E As part of the project to commemorate the 10th anniversary of establishing the China Business Support Office, OCCI will pursue the possibility of the project to enter the nursing care business market in China in order to meet new business needs in China. E Arranging business talks in Osaka with business missions from China, providing support for exhibiting at business exhibitions in China, providing the latest business information about China › Provision of business opportunities with overseas buyers E Providing small and medium-size businesses in Osaka with opportunities to open up new markets overseas by inviting promising buyer companies that are highly interested in Japanese products, services and technologies to business matching events › Providing support for opening up new markets in rising nations through Top Sales Missions E Dispatching business missions to rising nations in order to provide support for small and medium-size businesses in Osaka to enter markets as well as to promote Osaka Regions in those nations In addition to these five strategic projects, OCCI will strengthen its five foundations, to support the management of member companies, such as gExpansion of Business,h gSecuring and Developing Human Resources,h gSupport for Business Start-up and Management,h and gReinforcing Infrastructure,h as well as gSupport for Companies Suffering Damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake.h ===================================================================== 2. Results of survey concerning the influence of an electricity price increase on business management From March 8 to 18, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted a survey concerning the influence of an electricity price increase on business management, targeting its 147 board member and councilor member companies, and received responses from 71 companies (effective response:48.3%). More than 80% of the responding companies answered that they would rarely reflect the electricity price increase in their sales prices, and 25% of responding companies answered that the price increase would have a large influence on their business management. If the responses for ghave a large influenceh are added to the responses for ghave an influence to some extent,h THEN approximately 60% of responding companies have been affected by the price increase. Regarding the question about the rises in production & sales costs due to the electricity price increase, the number of companies answering gless than 5%h accounts for about 70% of the total, followed by companies answering gfrom 5% to less than 10%h (14.1%). However, more than 80% of total respondents think that the rise in these costs would be difficult to reflect in their sales prices. For the question about a decrease in operating profits, about 50% of respondents answered gless than 5%.h The number of companies that answered g5% to less than 10%h accounts for 12.7% of the total. As for the question about measures against the electricity price increase, as many as 90% of respondents answered gefforts to save electricityh with air-conditioning and illumination, followed by greplacing with energy-saving facilities/equipment (81.7%)h and greduction in costs other than personnel expenses (56.3%).h Also conspicuous were answers such as greduction in personnel expenses (16.9%)h and grestraint and reduction in production and sales activities in the jurisdiction of Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (12.7%).h ===================================================================== 3DOpening of English language website to provide information on night tours! The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry has jointly opened a new website, called gOsaka Nightlife,h mainly with the Osaka municipal government to provide information on night tours in Osaka. See http://www.osaka.cci.or.jp/nightlife/. The pages of the website have designs that are easy to view via smartphones and tablets, in order to facilitate access by foreign tourists visiting Osaka. The site introduces tourist facilities and event information in both Japanese and English, along with reports in English by foreigners on their experiences of cruising, entertainment events, and foods in Osaka. ===================================================================== 4DChanges of board members, and the FY2013 OCCI International Division Staffers and their Regions In the Ordinary General Assembly of Councilors held last month, OCCI Vice Chairman Takeo Higuchi (Chairman and CEO of Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.) resigned from his post, in which he has served for approximately eight years, and Mr. Hiroshi Ozaki (President of Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.) newly assumed this post. ************************************************** OCCI International Division Tel: 81-(0)6-6944-6400, Fax: 81-(0)6-6944-6293 E-mail: intl@osaka.cci.or.jp ************************************************** - Director : Mr. Shinji MARUYAMA - Deputy General Manager : Ryoji ASANO - Manager : Ms. Kazuko KAMADO Mr. Keisuke MATSUMOTO - Regions [China] Mr. Masatoshi TANAKA, Ms. Noriko FUJITA, Mr. Kazunari JYO [Chinese Taipei, Korea, Hong Kong, South Korea] Mr. Masatoshi TANAKA [Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar] Mr. Hikaru KOHAMA [Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine, Brunei], [Middle East, Western Europe] Mr. Kentaro NAGAO [Mongolia, Macau, North Korea] Ms. Noriko FUJITA [North America], [Oceania], [South West Asia] Ms. Yumiko NAGOSHI [Central & South America], [Africa] Mr. Frederick San Kang-Chung [Eastern Europe, Russia, CIS], Mr. Tomohiro IMAI - Osaka Business & Investment Center (O-BIC in short) URL : http://o-bic.net/ E-mail : o-bic@osaka.cci.or.jp Contact Persons : Ms. Kazuko KAMADO, Ms. Yu LIANG Adviser: Mr. Yasutsugu KOHZUKI (~May, 2013) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 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.