The EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation recently published a list of 25 projects between EU and Japanese companies taking place in Southeast Asia.

While the EU and Japanese markets have many opportunities, it is important to remember that there are also untapped business opportunities in growing markets like Southeast Asia. Through these case studies, the EU-Japan Centre aims to encourage EU and Japanese companies to consider collaboration in Southeast Asia. These projects show that EU and Japanese companies can complement each other in these markets. For example, EU companies can take advantage of the position of their Japanese partners which are often well-established and well-connected in the region. They can be an entry door to a local tender and can also benefit from Japanese ODA loans, which finance many projects in Southeast Asia. On the other hand, EU companies can provide competitive products and advanced technologies. From train signal systems to chemical processing technologies, EU companies can meet the needs of Southeast Asian markets and Japanese companies.

In addition, one of the best practices identified was that being present in Japan remains key if EU companies want to work with Japanese partners in Southeast Asia because the decision-making process is often made in the headquarters in Japan, and not in the subsidiaries in Asia. 
The EU-Japan Centre compiled this list of case studies by monitoring EU and Japanese companies’ activities in Southeast Asia and by interviewing some of the companies involved in the projects. The EU-Japan Centre did not contribute to the realisation of these projects, but it aims at promoting best practices and at providing a deeper understanding of these types of partnerships.

For more information about these case studies, please contact the EU-Japan Centre at: EJ3A(at)eu-japan.or.jp.