Shinji Kaburagi, senior economist at Jbic, said representatives of major Japanese firms in Thailand had given him the impression that the new government might adopt an inward-looking attitude. Some of the Japanese in-vestors expressed their concerns that if the government changes foreign investment policy, business will be discouraged, he said. However, they have not spelt out clearly how they would change any laws. Kaburagi said some Japanese businessmen here have also expressed concern about the current sentiment against foreign investors, which he said was successfully crafted by the Thai Rak Thai Party during the election campaign. As long as negative ap-proach is not undertaken, the foreign affiliates can continue their operation without headaches, he said.
Consistency is important for foreign investment.
Kaburagi recently finished a business survey entitled The Outlook of Japanese Foreign Direct Invest-ment . The report surveyed the performance of Japanese companies worldwide. He said the report found that Japanese investors have been satisfied with the results of their investments in the Asean region, particularly in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Japanese investors in Thailand said they were happy with the level of sales products and with cost-reduction efforts. The Japanese affiliates locally have focused on restructuring by strengthening management methods, including the efficiency of group management and the acquisition of business resources in Thailand.