Japanese mid-sized firms flocking to South-east Asia for growth
Overseas expansion is no longer optional given shrinking growth at home, says an M&A consultant
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[KUALA LUMPUR] For decades, Japan’s mid-sized companies built their businesses around a stable domestic market. Now, faced with a shrinking population, a labour shortage and slowing growth at home, many are increasingly looking overseas – not out of ambition, but necessity.
Yusuke Ojima, corporate officer and head of the overseas division at Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Nihon M&A Center, observed that South-east Asian countries are gaining traction amid this wave of Japanese “capital exports”.
Citing a survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) released last year, he noted that 43.8 per cent of Japanese-affiliated companies already in Asia and Oceania plan to expand further.
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