アジアにおける新たな経営戦略の構築と展開

相互依存度を増すASEAN・中国そしてインド

抄録

Among the growing and emerging markets of the world, Asia has been a region of constant interest for the past half century, starting with Japan, which achieved high growth after the end of the last world war, up to the present day China and India.
Asia has been attracting the world's attention. At the beginning of the 21st century, Asia has a greater influence than ever before on Japanese companies. By all yardsticks used to measure corporate global consolidated performance, including sales, profits and cash flow, the proportion contributed by Asia, centering on China and member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has been rising sharply.
21st century Asia has three main features from the standpoint of business operations-Asia as a market, Asia as a production base, and Asia as a base for research and development. For companies, it has become increasingly important to develop strategies to achieve growth and profitability in Asia which incorporate these three interactive functions in a highly competitive business environment.
Because of the increasing interdependence of trade and FDI between ASEAN and China, companies have been required to establish a “Greater Asia Strategy” to integrate ASEAN and China into a single corporate strategy and single corporate organization. An independent “ASEAN strategy” separate from “the China strategy”, popular in the 1990s, is no longer a workable strategy in the early 21st century and thereafter.
This dramatic change in corporate strategy is now resulting in the restructuring of existing Asian plants, marketing, logistics, even research and development because this region has already been incorporated into the borderless world economy.
Furthermore, amid the dynamic changes in Asia, it should be a medium to long-term management strategy to incorporate isolated Indian operations into the interdependent markets and operations in ASEAN and China. India is relaxing restrictions on foreign capital and shifting its foreign policy focus to Asia, and away from Europe and the United States. It is also making progress in FTA talks with ASEAN members such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as with ASEAN itself. As a result of FTAs, India's import tariffs, which were lowered from 150% to 20%, could be almost removed. India's trade with the core ASEAN members and China has been showing double-digit annual growth in recent years.
Japan, China and ASEAN countries comprise a triangle for the “Greater Asia Strategy”. China, ASEAN countries and India form another triangle. At the center of both triangles is the economic zone of China and ASEAN nations, which will be covered by the “Extended Greater Asia Strategy”.
In conclusion, Japanese companies must rely even more on Asia for their growth and profitability as their operations continue to be further globalized in the early part of the 21st century.