罗兰贝格-日本工商会议所-日本市场的拓展报告

MakingMoneyinJapanAprofitabilitysurveyamongGermanaffiliatesinJapanMakingMoneyinJapan3ContentsContentsIntroductionChapter1Themacroeconomicbackground1.1.ForeigndirectinvestmentinJapanisincreasing1.2.StrengthenedinitiativesoftheJapanesegovernmentChapter2TheearningssituationofGermancompaniesinJapan2.1.Profileofthecompaniessurveyed2.2.TheprofitabilityofGermancompaniesinJapan2.3.AcomparisonofprofitabilitybetweenthemachineryandconsumergoodssectorsChapter3ReasonswhyGermancompaniesareprofitableinJapan3.1.JapanisstillEastAsia'smostimportantmarket3.2.AdvantagesofforeigncompaniesinJapan—the‘Gaijinbonus’3.3.HandicapsofJapanesecompetitors—thelowlevelofglobalisation3.4.RelativelylowriskfactorsinJapanChapter4PossiblereservationsaboutcommittingtoJapan4.1.Thelingeringeconomiccrisis—alsoanopportunity4.2.TheKeiretsu—losingsignificance4.3.TheJapanesesalessystem—possiblenewsaleschannels4.4.StrongJapanesecompetition—winningthroughdifferentiation4.5.Highlabourandrentcosts—withadownwardtrend4.6.Tariffandnon-tariffbarriers—notinsurmountableSummaryListofabbreviationsContributors3467910111417181920222326272829303132343738IntroductionMakingMoneyinJapan5IntroductionJapanisregardedasaverychallengingmarket.Atthesametime,thecoun-tryhasbeenexperiencinganeconomiccrisisformorethanadecade.ThishasfrightenedmanycompaniesofffrominvestinginJapandirectly.Thebeliefthat“youcan’tmakemoneyinJapan”iswidelyheld.ButisthisscepticismofJapanreallyjustified,andifso,inwhatrespect?ThisstudywascarriedoutprimarilytoprovidesubstantiveanswerstothesequestionsandinparticulartoestablishtherealityoftheprofitsituationofGermancompaniesinJapan.Thestudywasjointlycarriedoutinthefirsthalfof2003bytheGermanChamberofCommerceandIndustryinJapan(DIHKJ)andRolandBergerStrategyConsultantsofTokyo.The510GermancompaniesknownbytheDIHKJtobeoperatinginJapanweresentaquestionnaire.Ninety-sevenmeasurablequestionnaireswerereturned,givingarepresentativereturnrateof19%.Interviewswereheldwithtencompaniesinordertodiscussinmoredetailthequalitativeresponsesonthereasonsfortheirprofitability.Becausetheanalysiswaslargelybasedonconfidentialdata,noinformationonthenamesoftheparticipatingcompaniescanbegiven.Norcananyindividualdetailsfromtheinterviewsbespecificallyattributedtoanycompany.ThestudyclearlyestablishesthatthemajorityofGermancompaniesinJapanareprofitable:94%ofthecompaniessurveyedhaveapositivegrossprofitmarginand76%ofthecompaniesachieveapositivepre-taxprofit.Thisstudyshowswhy,intheirownview,GermancompaniesareprofitableandanalysespossiblereservationswhichmightcurrentlybecitedagainstacommitmenttoJapan.Theresultisencouraging:theJapanesemarketisverydemanding,butforthosewhodaretomeetthechallengealucrativemarketawaits.Chapter1ThemacroeconomicbackgroundMakingMoneyinJapan71.1.ForeigndirectinvestmentinJapanisincreasing“JapanisonthewaytobecomingamajorFDIrecipient”Formanyyears,foreigninvestmentinJapanwasregardedrathersuspi-ciously,notonlyinconservativegovernmentcirclesbutbythepublicaswell.Inthepast,thisunresponsiveinvestmentenvironmentmademarketentrydifficultformanycompanies.Thishaschangedinrecentyears.Now,theJapanesegovernmenthasrecognisedthatFDI(foreigndirectinvestment)notonlybringscapitaltoJapan,butcanalsoexertapositiveinfluenceinnumerousareas.Newdynamicsareexpectedintechnology,managementmethodsandthelabourmarket,andforeigndirectinvestmentisincreasinglyseenasasupportingfactorinJapan’seffortstoreform.From1997,foreigndirectinvestmentinJapanincreasedsharply(Figure1),buthasbeendecreasingsince2001.Therecentdeclineisprimarilyattributabletotheglobaleconomicdownturnandtothedeclineofcross-bordermergersandacquisitions,whichhaveaffectedothercountriesaswell.1.1.ForeigndirectinvestmentinJapanisincreasingTraditionalreticenceNewawarenessoftheadvantagesofdirectinvestmentSharpincreaseinForeignDirectInvestmentsince1997Figure1:ForeigndirectinvestmentinJapan1,1351,2721,3041,3011,5421,7051,8421,4971,465199419951996199719981999200020012002Source:MinistryofFinanceJapan50001000150020002,1862,1783,1252,3991,3406787713704430500100015002000250030003500Number[YENbn]NumberYENbn8MakingMoneyinJapanChapter1—ThemacroeconomicbackgroundThesignificantincreasedid,however,takeofffromalowstartingpoint:thevalueofforeigndirectinvestmentinJapanamountstoonlyabout1%ofGDP.Japanthereforeremainsfarbehindotherindustrialisedcountries(Figure2).Positivedevelopment,butfromalowstartingpointLittledirectinvestment,butgreatpotentialIncreasingopennessoftheJapaneseeconomyFigure2:DirectinvestmentinrelationtoGDP(%)200142.8%France38.8%UnitedKingdom32.2%China29.4%Australia28.8%Canada25.1%USA24.2%Germany1.2%JapanSource:InternationalFinancialStatistics(IMF)Despitethelowinvestmentvolumes,Japanisanattractivecountryfordirectinvestment.TheUNCTADWorldInvestmentReportcompares140countrieswithregardtotheirforeigndirectinvestment.Theevaluationismeasuredaccordingtotwoindices:theFDIPerformanceIndexandtheFDIPotentialIndex.TheFDIPerformanceIndexplacesacountry’sshareofinternationalFDIinflowsinrelationtoitsshareofworld-wideGDP.Theaverageindexforindustrialisedcountriesisaround1.0.With