Business
UPDATED: 14:56, June 01, 2004
Japanese manufacturers to expand business in China
Japanese manufacturers are considering boosting business in China with more companies seeing the world's most populous country as a market rather than just a production base, according to a government report released Tuesday. Of the 413 companies in the manufacturing sector responding to a survey conducted in February, 68 percent said they currently consider China either as a market or both as a market and a production base, while the ratio jumps to 90.7 percent when asked about five years from now.
The white paper on foundations for manufacturing was jointly compiled by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Citing the same survey, the report says 86.8 percent of the companies are planning to expand their businesses in China, while only 0.4 percent are considering scaling down or withdrawing from China.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will continue to be important bases in terms of marketing and production in line with growing economies there, the report says.
The annual report also says globalization among Japanese manufacturers has continued to proceed with the overseas production ratio reaching a record 17.1 percent in fiscal 2002 and expected to mark 18 percent in fiscal 2003.
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