By Jan. 30, 2013
Between November and December 2012, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) conducted its latest survey on the business operations of Japanese-affiliated firms in Europe: 15 Western European countries and 10 Central and Eastern European countries as well as Turkey. All firms had an investment ratio from Japan of over 10%, including both direct and indirect investment, and in Turkey all were manufacturers. We received 843 valid replies (a 60.3% response rate) out of 1,397 to whom we sent questionnaires. The question items covered areas including:
1.Business outlook
2.Influence of the European debt crisis and strong yen
3.Forecasted sales and operating profits
4.Challenges in management
5.FTAs
Below is a summary of the results.
Summary points:
1.Business outlook for the next one or two years
Number of manufacturers intending to expand business decreases again. Russia and Turkey cited as promising sales destinations.
(1) Regarding business plans in the next one or two years in Europe, the proportion of respondents expecting their business to expand has changed over the past six years as follows: 52.7% in 2007
