64.5% Of Japan Firms Abroad Expect To Profit This Year

Around 64.5 percent of Japanese companies' overseas affiliates expect to see operating profits in 2022, bringing them almost on par with levels before the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent survey, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: The figures were reported by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

While the result was almost at 2019's 65 percent, signs of long-term recovery were less promising, with just 45.4 percent of respondents saying they will expand their business in the next one to two years, down from a pre-COVID-19 48.9 percent, according to the survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Mainichi Shimbun also reported.

About 60 percent of manufacturing businesses also said they planned to review their supply chains, and 57.5 percent said they will consider changing suppliers.

A majority of manufacturers cited rising costs of raw materials for the changes, with just under 50 percent also reporting they intend to do so due to the risk of supply chains being cut amid distribution instability.

"The energy situation is unstable due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and we cannot outline good prospects for the world economy," Jetro Chairman Nobuhiko Sasaki said at a press conference.

According to the survey released Nov. 24, 85.5 percent of companies based in South Korea expect to log profits, followed by the Netherlands at 78.9 percent, and 73.5 percent in Singapore. The corresponding figure for Indonesia was 73.2 percent, 73.0 percent in Britain, and 71.9 percent in India.

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