Council, Chiba Prefecture and companies to decarbonize Keiyo Rinkai Industrial Complex
Governor Kumagai (24th, Chiba City) says, "I would like to cooperate so that the council can fulfill its role in promoting decarbonization."
A council was launched on the 24th to promote carbon neutrality (substantially zero greenhouse gas emissions) at the Keiyo Rinkai Industrial Complex in Chiba Prefecture, which faces Tokyo Bay. Governor Toshihito Kumagai became the chairman, and 11 companies including the national government, 6 cities including Chiba, JFE Steel, Idemitsu Kosan, and Tokyo Gas, and university professors participated. Encourage cooperation between companies, and promote initiatives that make efficient use of resources and economies of scale.
At a conference held in Chiba City on the same day, Governor Kumagai said, "We would like to cooperate with the national government, related cities, and local companies so that the council can fulfill its role in promoting decarbonization."
Regarding carbon neutrality, a prefectural official explained, "Some companies have started to take measures, but there are limits to what individual companies can do, so it is important to promote collaboration between the public and private sectors and between companies." It assumes the use of renewable energy, recycling of carbon and resources, and optimization of energy.
A company commented, "Efforts toward carbon neutrality are being promoted through technological innovation, but the process of using coal will remain. Through the council, we will talk frankly with other industries, share information, and promote decarbonization." I want to.”
The council will set up a subcommittee in the future to discuss and consider specific measures for corporate collaboration. The second conference will be held in about a year. We will also collaborate with the prefecture's Carbon Neutral Promotion Headquarters and the Carbon Neutral Port Promotion Council, which is scheduled to be established in the future.
Mitsubishi UFJ positions Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya, which it acquired in 2013, as a platform in Southeast Asia =Reuters
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group announced on the 24th that it will acquire a non-bank in Southeast Asia. Bank of Ayudhya of Thailand, which became a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ in 2013, is in charge of practical operations. In the past, capital participation by Japanese banks was customary, but this time Bank of Ayudhya will handle both the acquisition and business development. It symbolizes that Japanese banks' M&A (mergers and acquisitions) strategy has moved to a new phase.
Acquired a local subsidiary of consumer finance home credit headquartered in the Netherlands. The Philippines will purchase all outstanding shares and Indonesia will purchase 85% of the shares by the end of June 2023. Bank of Ayudhya, which Mitsubishi UFJ positions as the core of Southeast Asia, holds 75% of voting rights and sends directors and others. The total purchase price is 596 million euros (approximately 87 billion yen).
Home Credit's strength lies in point-of-sale (POS) loans. Customers who purchase home appliances at shopping malls can enter their occupation and annual income in a smartphone app, and they will be immediately shown the availability and terms of loans. It is characterized by using a huge amount of data and digitizing everything from examination to financing and collection of funds.
Gross operating profit in FY2021 was over 30 billion yen in the Philippines and around 18 billion yen in Indonesia. Due to the deteriorating market environment caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, we have focused on selective management, such as narrowing down the credit limit, but at the moment, the loan balance is growing again.
The size of the POS loan market is estimated to be around 30 billion to 60 billion yen in both countries, and the proportion of consumer loans, including card loans and housing loans, is not necessarily large. Draw a path to connect POS loans to multi-layered transactions, such as proposing cash loans to customers who have secured contact by downloading the app.
In previous M&As, it was common for Japanese banks to participate in capital participation in local financial institutions. Mizuho Bank invested in a smartphone payment service company in Vietnam, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation made a major Philippine bank an equity-method affiliate.
Bank of Ayudhya, the fifth largest bank in Thailand by assets, is the leader in consumer finance in Southeast Asia. An executive of Mitsubishi UFJ said, "We would like to strengthen the group's business by going through Bank of Ayudhya, which has a high level of expertise in Southeast Asia." We will continue to search for opportunities for M&A, and it is likely that there will be more opportunities for Bank of Ayudhya to come to the fore. (Jun Watanabe)
