Foreign investment in Japan rises
TOKYO: Underlining the recent shift toward global business, foreign
investment in Japan more than tripled to 1.4 trillion yen ($13 billion) last
year compared to 1998, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper reported Sunday.
The report, citing the Bank of Japan, said that the pace of investment
gathered momentum in 1999, after posting record highs for the past two
years. Foreign investments last year totaled 3.4 times those for 1998, which
stood at about 400 billion yen ($3.8 billion).
The central bank attributes the steep increase to the streamlining of
government regulations and the fall in land prices which has brought down
the cost of doing business in Japan. The Bank of Japan was closed Sunday and
could not be reached for comment.
The global realignment in industries and restructuring by Japanese companies
also created opportunities, the report said. The auto, telecommunications,
banking and insurance sectors saw some of the biggest deals.
Renault SA bought into Nissan Motor Co. while British Telecommunications PLC
and AT and T Corp. took stakes in Japan Telecom Co.
Manulife Financial, Canada's largest life insurer, brought Daihyaku Mutual
Life Insurance Co. under its wing. Overseas direct investment by Japanese
companies declined for the first time since 1993, dropping 17.6 percent to
2.6 trillion yen ($24 billion). (AP)
For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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