PressApril 27, 2017
To 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 2016
[Contact]
Ms. Liang and Ms. Fujita
Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC)(International Division, OCCI)TEL: 06-6944-6298

I. 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 and the OCCI as a one-stop support center topromote foreign direct investment in Osaka (Secretariat: International Division, OCCI).

II. Overview of activities in FY 2016
~A high level of inward FDI for the third year in a row in Osaka,38 FDI projects recorded~(1) Inward FDI trend: More FDI from Asian countries○ In FY 2016, O-BIC attracted 38 FDI projects to Osaka, the second highest number ever recorded.
○ Looking at the 38 FDI projects by country/region of origin, China (including Hong Kong and Macau)
ranked first with 17 projects, South Korea ranked second with nine projects, and Taiwan ranked third
with six projects. Except for one project each from the U.K. and Portugal, the remaining 36 projects
were from Asia, highlighting Osaka’s burgeoning role as a business hub in Asia where many Asiancompanies are located.
○ Over the 16 years since the O-BIC was established until FY 2016, O-BIC attracted a total of 464 FDI
projects to Osaka. By country, China ranked first with 163 projects, South Korea ranked second with80 projects, and the U.S. ranked third with 42 projects.

Number of foreign investment cases
led by O-BIC(cumulative total)
No. of new cases
No. of cumulative total

132714603384241092513324169

36197 216

281924832280

323123234230380384264646438

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 20161

(2) Characteristics of inward FDI for Osaka① Inbound tourism-related investments have continued to be strong and become more diverse.
The number of inbound tourists from China and other Asian countries has continued to increase,boosting demand for high-quality Japanese products. Under these circumstances, the number ofinvestments in the inbound tourism sector, such as the tour business, merchandise purchasecenters and logistics services, increased from 11 in FY 2015 to 13 in FY 2016, accounting for 35
percent of all FDI made in Osaka. In FY 2015, all inbound tourism-related investments were from
China. In 2016, however, some such investments were from Taiwan and South Korea, with inboundtourism-related investments becoming more diverse—they included investments in purchasecenters not only for everyday items, but also for nursing care products.

② O-BIC’s long-term sustained efforts attracted pharmaceutical companies to Osaka.
O-BIC’s long-term sustained efforts bore fruit—a Portuguese pharmaceutical company and a South
Korean pharmaceutical company, which O-BIC began to approach six years and four years ago,
respectively, established their businesses in Osaka.

③ More Taiwanese companies were attracted to invest in Osaka.
The number of Taiwanese companies that invested in Osaka increased sharply to six in FY 2016
from one in FY 2015, probably because more Taiwanese companies recognized the need tostrengthen their marketing capabilities in Japan. Previously, most of Taiwanese companies
interested in Japan-related businesses were largely willing to trade with Japanese business
partners, but were not very willing to establish business facilities in Japan due to Taiwan’s proximity
to Japan.
Meanwhile, O-BIC promoted Osaka to Taiwanese companies as an investment destination atInvestment in Japan Seminars held by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in threecities in Taiwan.

④ Some foreign companies aim to establish their own brands using Japanese technologicalcapabilities.
Some Chinese and South Korean companies established their own R&D or manufacturing facilities
in Osaka to produce quality “made in Japan” products, using Japanese technological capabilities.
They aim to market their brands as “made in Japan” products around the world through M&A andOEM.

2III. The main successful investment cases in FY 2016
■ O-BIC’s long-term sustained efforts to attract the following life science companies toOsaka bore fruit.

Hovione Limited. （Portugal）
Business description: Import andsale of active pharmaceuticalingredients
Types of support provided: PR,
office selection, recruitment, andprovision of information aboutenterprise establishment andbusiness licenses

Daewoong Pharmaceutical Japan Co., Ltd.
（Korea）
Business description: Import and export of active
pharmaceutical ingredients
Types of support provided: Provision of free
office space, financial aid for fees required forenterprise establishment, and provision ofinformation about business licenses and visa
acquisition■ O-BIC helped the following company enter the Japanese IoT market.
Ubiik Inc. （Taiwan）
Business description: Import and sale of UHF andUFC tags
Types of support provided: Introduction to experts
and banks, office selection, financial aid for fees
required for enterprise establishment and provisionof recruitment information■ O-BIC helped the following companies aiming to establish their own “made in Japan”
brand build their manufacturing facilities in Osaka.
Green shiny Co., Ltd. (China）
Business description: Production, sale andexport of own brand health food products
Types of support provided: Provision of businessinformation and introduction to business partners

Suita Electric Corporation（Korea）
Business description:
Manufacture and sale of measuring instruments
Types of support provided: Financial aid for fees
required for enterprise establishment, PR andprovision of various information
3IV. Outline of FY 2016 activities<Promotional activities>① In FY 2016, O-BIC continued to attract FDI to Osaka in collaboration withthe Osaka International Business Promotion Center and the Japan
External Trade Organization (JETRO) Osaka.
② During FY 2016, O-BIC received 118 inquiries from foreign investors,
provided information about the Japanese market and enterpriseestablishment procedures, and offered individual consultation.
③ With a focus on attracting foreign businesses in the new energy and life
science sectors, in which Osaka excels, O-BIC informed foreigncompanies about various incentives and support available in a National
Strategic Special Zone and the Kansai Innovation Global StrategicComprehensive Special Zone, using opportunities both inside andoutside Japan.
④ Specifically, in Japan, O-BIC brought in Chinese, American andCanadian businesses from various sectors to promote Osaka as an

O-BIC’s Activities
NumberNumber of
Numberof
foreignof
SupportFY
investment
Inquiries
Program’s
cases
users

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

300
273
164
141
158
175
139
117
137
101
123
94
97
113
137
118

13
14
33
24
25
24
36
28
1932
32
32
30
384638111218151314252324

Total 2,387

464

155

investment destination and hold business matching sessions for them
※Support Program：
O-BIC’s unique incentive for promoting
and local companies in Osaka. O-BIC also interviewed
investment in Osaka by alleviating theburden through reduction of part of therepresentatives from foreign companies participating in trade fairs
costs (Ex. Registration, Visa etc.)
such as “Life Science World” and “Manufacturing World Japan” to find（Maximum support amount:¥150,000）
prospective investors. Outside Japan, O-BIC held seminars andparticipated in trade fairs in various countries and regions, such as China, Taiwan, South Korea,Vietnam, Myanmar, Australia and the U.K. to introduce Osaka’s investment environment and thetypes of support provided by O-BIC. The “Invest in Osaka Seminar,” which was held in Beijing by
O-BIC for the first time, received a terrific response.
<Support for firm establishment>① O-BIC holds an Osaka Business Networking Club event twice a year to help foreign companies
operating in Osaka build networks with local companies. O-BIC also informs them about various
networking events hosted by OCCI and other local organizations, such as the Kansai International
Meishi Exchange. In addition, O-BIC helps them with their promotional activities and introduces themto market development tools and other useful resources to help them become firmly established inOsaka.
② In FY 2016, as an Osaka Business Networking Club event in September, representatives fromforeign business organizations visited the Entrepreneurial Museum of Challenge and Innovation anda local SME with a long history to learn about the entrepreneurial spirit of Osaka’s businessmen andthe secrets to evolving flexibly through the ages. As an Osaka Business Networking Club event inFebruary, representatives from foreign business organizations and local companies attended alecture titled “Kansai economy analyzed based on data and street-walking experience” given by
General manager of the Bank of Japan, Osaka Branch, and a networking session for event
participants.
4

＜Reference materials＞①A matrix of O-BIC investment cases in the Osaka region in fiscal 2016

5

Osaka Business and Investment Center (O-BIC)
Matrix of Investment cases in FY2016(April, 2016－March, 2017）

Cases of New Entry : 38

※Figures in brackets（Industry
R&D

Manufacturing）=FY15

Wholesaleand Retail(Export)

Wholesaleand Retail(Import)

3(10)

2(5)

1(2)

6(1)

2(1)

Information andTransportation Communications

Publicagencies/organizations

ServiceTOTALCountry/Region
China

1

Korea

1(1)

1(1)

TaiwanHong Kong

(2)

Macau
Asia

1(4)

(1)

15(29)

9(5)

6(1)

1(2)

1(0)

1(0)

0(1)

1(1)

1(1)

1(0)

36(40)

0(2)

0(0)

0(2)

1(1)

0(0)

(1)

1(1)

(1)

0(1)

2(3)

0(1)

17(4)

1(2)

311

Mongolia

1

Vietnam(1)Shingapore

1

Myanmar(1)(1)

1IsraelAsia/Total(3)

12(1)

1(1)

5(14)

13USA(9)

1(4)

1(1)

12(7)

1(3)

(2)

North
America Canada
N.A./Total

0(0)

UK

0(0)

0(0)

01(2)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

(1)

SwedenEurope Portugal

1

Switzerland
EU/Total

0(0)

1(0)

0(0)

1(3)

0(0)

0(0)

0

Australia(0)

0(0)

(1)

Oceania
Oceania/Total

TOTAL

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(1)

0(0)

0(1)

2(1)

2(1)

5(14)

14(14)

1(4)

1(1)

12(8)

1(3)

38(46)