Japanese firms boosting presence in Mozambique, Africa – TICAD-VI

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Japanese firms boosting presence in Mozambique, Africa – TICAD-VI

9:31 CAT | 26 Aug 2016

The upcoming sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD VI, is expected to help accelerate Japanese companies’ investment in Africa’s increasingly attractive consumer market.

At the TICAD summit, to be held in Nairobi for two days from Saturday, leaders of Japan and African nations will discuss Tokyo’s assistance for the development of Africa, which is widely known as the “last frontier” due to the continent’s huge economic growth potential.

Notably, in the Sub-Saharan African region south of the Sahara Desert, the middle-income group is expected to expand as the population there is forecast to reach 2 billion by 2050.

More and more Japanese trading companies are shifting their African investment strategies from one-off natural resource development to projects that call for longer-term and multifaceted involvement in the region.

In December 2012, Toyota Tsusho Corp. acquired French trader CFAO SA, helping it engage in businesses in 53 of the 54 African countries.

Toyota Tsusho also plans to open a total of 80 shopping centers in Cote d’Ivoire and seven other African countries by 2020, on the back of its collaboration with French retail giant Carrefour SA.

“With a large young population, Africa has a high potential” for economic growth, a Toyota Tsusho spokesperson said.

In Mozambique, Mitsui & Co. is comprehensively carrying out coal mine development and infrastructure development projects such as port and railway construction.

The company intends to expand its operations to launch initiatives for promoting agriculture in areas along railway lines and developing human resources, in the hope of contributing to Mozambique’s nation-building efforts.

As Africa’s economy grows, demand for motorcycles and automobiles is also expected to expand.

Yamaha Motor Co. launched a motorcycle plant in Nigeria jointly with CFAO last November, a move that marked Yamaha’s return to the Nigerian market after an absence of 10 years in anticipation of an expansion of the country’s middle class.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. has decided to beef up its tire-manufacturing facilities in South Africa.

Source: The Japan News