To Leave It Behind
Korean IT companies need to refer to their Japanese counterparts in order to leave Chinese firms such as Huawei and Xiaomi behind.
Eugene Investment & Securities visited 11 Japanese enterprises with Korean investors last month and released a follow-up report on Sept. 30. “These days, Japanese companies are rebounding by means of large-scale restructuring, aggressive M&As, and new businesses based on original technology rather than the depreciation of the yen,” it said in the report.
Nowadays, Panasonic is successfully shifting the focus of its business from consumer electronics and secondary batteries to electric vehicles, smart homes, and alternative energy. Murata Manufacturing is also expanding its businesses from smartphone components to smart auto parts, healthcare equipment sensors, etc. In addition, many other Japanese IT companies are concentrating on electric vehicles, biotechnology, healthcare, smart homes, big data, robot manufacturing, and so on, challenging the dominance of American companies in these industries.
Japanese IT firms are focusing on a small number of fields they can excel at, too. For example, Hitachi set up a healthcare group in April last year after withdrawing from the home electronics and semiconductor industries. Nikon shut down its manufacturing facilities abroad so as to prepare for a shrinkage of the DSLR market while working on advanced medical and biotechnology. Sharp’s new business models include camera modules, which are expected to take the place of its LCD panel production.