Direct Foreign Investment in Japan Hits Record High in January-July 2007 Period

September 21, 2007
By Ken Worsley

Earlier this morning, the Ministry of Finance announced that direct foreign investment in Japan hit a record high in the January-July 2007 period, reaching 2.32 trillion yen. During that time, 4.64 trillion yen of capital flowed into Japan, while capital outflows stood at 2.28 trillion yen. That net figure far surpassed the previous record of 1.45 trillion yen, which was set in 1999.

US and European firms seem to be continuing to view the acquisition of existing Japanese companies as an effective way to gain a foothold in the Japanese market. Chief among them last year was Citigroup, which acquired troubled brokerage Nikko Cordial for just under one trillion yen back in April.

Bets are on for the second half of the year, and I’m expecting that to see an increase over last year as well, though it may be hard to remain on record-setting pace.

Filed Under Economic Reports, Ministry of Finance