April 23, 2019PressTo Members of the Osaka Economic Press Club

(cc: Osaka Prefectural Government Press Club, Osaka Municipal Government Press Club)

Joint release by the Osaka Prefectural Government, Osaka Municipal Government
and Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI)Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC)
Achievements in FY 2018
[Contact]
Ms. Matsuba and Ms. Liang
Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC)(International Division, OCCI)TEL: 06-6944-6298

Succeeded in attracting 42 foreign investments in FY 2018,the second highest record ever
Number of foreign investment cases by O-BIC(cumulative total)
No. of new cases

13 27
13 146033

No. of cumulative total

169 197 216

84 109 133
24 25 24 36

1928248 280 312

342

32303232464
380 4263846506 548

38 42

42

Investment trend: 80% coming from China and other Asian countries/regions;
European and American companies investing in Japan are also increasing
The number of foreign investment cases in FY 2018 was 42, recording thesame number as in the previous year and marking the second highest record
ever. We have attracted around 40 investment cases every year since FY
2014.
Looking at the 42 cases by country and region, the largest investor is China,including Hong Kong, with 21 cases (25 cases in the previous year;
descriptions in parentheses in this paragraph show the figures of the previousyear) constituting half of the total, followed by Korea with 7 cases (6 cases)

1and Singapore with 3 cases (1 case). Investment cases from Asia account for80% (90%) of the total with 34 cases (39 cases). This indicates that close
economic relations exist between Osaka and Asia. Meanwhile, we welcomed
the first investment from Chile, and the number of investment cases from theUnited States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany and other
American and European countries is increasing.
The cumulative total number of cases over the 18 years since theestablishment of O-BIC to FY 2018 is 548. The top three investors incumulative total by country are China (including Hong Kong, 224 cases),
Korea (93 cases) and the United States (44 cases).

Characteristics of investment(1) Inbound tourism-related investment boom calming down; activeadvancement into markets for Japanese companies and consumers
Investment cases by travel businesses targeted at inbound tourists to Japan(mainly from China), businesses handling establishment of hubs for thepurchase of Japanese products, and real estate agents targeted at foreigners
had remained at a high level over the past several years, but the number ofsuch inbound tourism-related investment cases was only 9 this year (19 in theprevious year).
On the other hand, investment by overseas companies offering services toJapanese companies and consumers significantly increased

from 14 casesin the previous year to 22 cases this year. Such investors include thoseoffering global technology and services to Japanese companies (EcoSea Tech,SEAPA Japan), those selling cosmetics (REJI) and nursing care items (CuracoJapan) to Japanese consumers that are believed to be the most demanding inthe world, and those operating beauty salons and restaurants. The remarkable
point is that young business operators from Singapore and Korea are actively
entering the Japanese market.
(2) Initiatives by Osaka to inspire innovation are highly evaluated byforeign-affiliated companiess, Osaka City has operated theOsaka Innovation Hub (OIH) since 2013. It has been organizing the global2innovation conference

event ofits kind in Osaka. In April 2018, the OCCI and Osaka Institute of Technology
jointly opened Xport, an urban open innovation hub, to facilitate new forms ofindustry-academia cooperation and exchange. We have been able tosuccessfully promote these active innovation-inspiring initiatives and projects
by Osaka widely to the world, and as a result, we received expressions ofinterest from companies from Hong Kong (Global Digital MOJO) and theUnited Kingdom that hope to be part of.

Eventually, we decided to provide startup support and consultation on
business launch and development in Osaka.
(3) Political and economic conditions in Japan and abroad matter(US-China trade dispute, new status of residence for foreign workers inJapan, etc.)
Affected by the US-China trade dispute, an American trading company
handling automotive parts (Miseki), which used to have its production andprocurement hub in China, newly established its business hub in Osaka withthe aim of building an alternative factory in Japan, replacing that in China.
Meanwhile, as a new status of residence for foreign workers in Japan
introduced, Chinese companies (StaffStar, Hakushin Japan) established their business hubs in Osaka, which boasts
excellent access both for staffing service providers and their clients, to conductbusiness as personnel agencies for nursing care business and otherbusinesses that suffer staffing shortage. As seen in these, movements thatsharply reflect political and economic conditions in Japan and abroad also
affect the trends in investment to Japan.
The main successful investment cases in FY 2018
Global technology introduced to Japanese aquaculture industry
While marine products from Japan are becoming popular in the world market,
improvement in productivity has been a major issue for the Japanese aquaculture industry.
In light of this, foreign companies with advanced aquaculture technology supported by IoTand AI consider Japan a key market and are actively expanding their businesses in Japan,
aiming to contribute to the development of the local aquaculture industry in cooperation
with Japanese companies.

3

EcoSea Tech LLC (Naniwa-ku, Osaka)
Parent company: EcoSea Farming SpA (Chile)
Business: Sales, installation and provision of operation
know-how of copper alloy aquaculture
containment systems and supporting hardware.
Has patented technology on submergible
offshore aquaculture containment systems.
Support provided: Consultation on incorporation
procedures, introduction of office sites, supportfor opening bank accounts, support for public
relations, information provision
SEAPA Japan (Kita-ku, Osaka)
Parent company: SEAPA (Australia)
Business: Development, manufacturing and sales ofoyster farming equipment and systems
Support provided: Introduction to specialists, information
provision, support for initial operation

Headquarters expansion of a life science company
PRA, a major American CRO (Contract Research Organization) with approximately 70
business hubs worldwide, is expanding its Japanese headquarters in Osaka to reinforce its
drug development capabilities in Japan and to increase staff members to improve theclinical trial environment. By this, the company aims to establish a service system utilizing
its expertise and global infrastructure.
PRA Health Sciences K.K. (Chuo-ku, Osaka)
Parent company: Pharm Research Associates (UK) Ltd. (UK)Business: Commissioned business of clinical development, earlypost-marketing phase vigilance, post-marketingsurveillance, clinical study, etc. of pharmaceuticals,
medical equipment, cellular and tissue-based products,
vaccines, etc.
Support to be provided: Osaka Prefecture Granting Subsidy for
Business Start-Up of Foreign-Affiliated Companies (20million yen will be provided), support for public relations
(TBC)

4

Overview of O-BIC and its activities in FY 2018
About the Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC)
The Osaka Business & Investment Center (O-BIC) was established in 2001
jointly by the Osaka Prefectural Government, Osaka Municipal Government andthe OCCI as a one-stop support center to promote foreign direct investment in
Osaka (Secretariat: International Division, OCCI).
Overview of activities in FY 2018
We continuously worked on foreign investmentO-promotion in FY 2018 as a private-public initiative,
jointlywiththeOsakaInternationalBusiness

Promotion Center and the Japan External Trade
Organization (JETRO) Osaka Headquarters. In
particular, in addition to new energy and life science
industries, we also focusedon cutting-edge fields that are expected to achieve
remarkable growth in the future, such as IoT andAI. At the same time, we also put our efforts into
attractions as a candidate for (and the host of)Expo 2025.
In Japan, we interviewed exhibitors from overseas
at trade fairs, and hosted business meetings
between foreign and Osaka-based companies. We
also launched the O-BIC Award at Hack Osaka
discover potential investors and provide support for
their business expansion in Osaka.
favorable investment climate and Oat invest-in-Japan seminars and trade fairs in China, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Sweden,
and the United States, among other places.
To

supportcontinued

investment

byforeign-affiliated companies operating in Japanand to facilitate their exchange with Osaka-based
companies, we hosted theevent twice, which attracted 133
participants in total.

5Support Program
Opromoting
investment in Osaka by alleviating theburden through reduction of part of thecosts (Ex. Registration, Visa etc.)(Maximum support amount: ¥150,000)

Reference materials
A matrix of O-BIC investment cases in the Osaka region in f iscal 2018
A matrix of O-BIC investment cases in the Osaka region in fiscal 2001 -2018

6

Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC)
Matrix of Investment cases in FY2018

Cases of New Entry : 42
Industry
R&D

Manufacturing

Wholesaleand Retail(Export)

Wholesaleand Retail(Import)

finance andinsurance

44

1

Transportation

Information andCommunications

Publicagencies/organizations

ServiceTOTAL

Country/Region
China(2)Hong Kong

(5)

(2)

Korea

(1)

Taiwan(1)

Singapore

12(8)

(1)

17(3)

(2)

3(1)
(1)

11(1)

18(20)

(1)

3(5)

5(4)

7(6)

1(1)

1(3)

1(1)

3(1)

(1)

1(1)

1(0)

Asia
Thailand1

Vietnam

North
AmericaSouthAmerica

1

India

(2)

0(2)

Malaysia

(1)

0(1)

34(39)

2(0)

2(0)

1(0)

1(0)

2(0)

Asia/Total

1USA

1

N.A./Total

1(2)

0(2)

5(7)

7(12)

1(1)

0(0)

1(0)

(14)

1(1)

1(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

Chile
S.A./Total

18

1(0)

0(0)

10(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

UK

1(0)

0(0)

2

Switzerland

11(0)Germany

1

1(0)

0(1)

Europe Malta(1)Russia(1)0(1)

Denmark

(1)

0(1)

4(3)

1(0)

EU/Total

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

Australia

2(2)

0(1)

0(0)

0(0)

2(0)

0(0)

1Oceania
Oceania/Total

TOTAL

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

1(0)

0(2)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

1(0)

2(2)

0(2)

5(7)

10(14)

1(4)

0(0)

1(0)

22(14)1(1)42(42)

ACHIEVEMENTS in the last 18 years(April 2001 - March 2019)
Country/RegionIndustry
Manufacturing

R&D

5Wholesale and Wholesale andRetail (Export) Retail (Import)

Finance andInsurance

Transportation

Information andCommunications

ServicePublicagencies/organizations

313

1139

17

341924

22

516

64

14

OthersTotalAsia
China

2Hong Kong

2

Korea

1

Shingapore1142696894326India

4Indonesia

1Sri Lanka

123393131Taiwan

1Thailand

219111183135Myanmar

111Vietnam

113Mongolia

1PakistanMacau

1Malaysia

1Philippines

3
1623

1

11212111

1

Hong Kong/Singapore

11Israel

Asia/Total

201

6763154

62

1USA

22218

North America Total

22220

100000142France

1

153

Germany217183494250407

North AmericaCanada

131841514405182052001001310South AmericaChile
South America Total

11EuropeUKIreland

1124141Italy

1

Switzerland

5212111316Spain

2

Denmark

33Finland

11Belgium

1

The Czech Republic

1

Sweden

12

1212

12

Norway11Slovakia
Netherland

11122Malta

2
1Russia
Europe Total

11PolandPortugal

1

1143035170718333178

Oceania
New Zealand

1Australia

2

Oceania Total

000Africa Total

00Total

12121830033009100000001

66

212

14

1849

134

30

1

548

AfricaCote d'Ivoire

11