November (2013) saw Iwatani Corporation unveil its latest three-year mid-term business plan, to run through until fiscal year 2015. Titled ‘Plan 15’ the strategy perhaps best summarises the position the Japan industrial gases business finds itself in as 2014 gets underway.
Three of the plan’s four central tenets are particularly relevant, targeting:
- A steady expansion of earnings structure
- Growth in the Southeast Asian market
- Expansion of technological capabilities
These would all appear to be themes underpinning the gases industry in the region in 2013/14. Coupled with these is an economic position that, while much improved in the face of a new administration’s actions for revival, still appears to provide slight uncertainty. The industrial gas companies in the country would definitely appear to be attempting to buffer themselves against any possible downturns.
The Japanese economy reported an upturn in latter 2012, an upturn which was largely sustained through first-half 2013. It had been reported that economic growth slowed in the period from July to September but as the New Year began, headlines suggest that the country’s economy does continue to recover – based upon rising consumer prices. Government data released in December showed that consumer prices excluding food rose 1.2% in November (2013) compared to the same month in 2012; it was also the largest gain since November 2008.
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