Highlights: October 2004 Issue
American International Group Japan: Is It Too Much for Japan's Regulators to Handle?
Insurance giant American International Group (AIG) works hard to keep a low profile in Japan. But that may be a smart move. Already Japan's largest foreign non-life insurance company as well as its sixth-largest life insurance firm, AIG has stated ambitions to grow further in Japan. But in order to achieve that growth, it will need the assent of Japan's regulators, including the Financial Services Agency. But will the FSA, born only a few years ago and organized by industry, be up to the task of keeping AIG's diverse holdings from dominating key industry segments? AIG Japan and its many local insurance units including ALICO, American Home Direct, AIU, JI Accident & Fire Insurance, AIG Edison Life, AIG Star Life and Fuji Fire & Marine are sister companies with AIG Japan Securities, AIG Japan Partners, AIG Global Investment Group, ILFC and a variety of other non-insurance businesses that together provide a great amount of shared knowledge and relationships. What would the FSA do if AIG Japan proposes a tie-up with Zenkyoren or a newly-privatized Kampo in the coming years? Executives focused on Japan's financial services industry will not want to miss this profile.A Specialist Offers Advice: "Lessons of a Non-Japanese Mall Developer in Japan"
Just a month before its scheduled opening in Funabashi (Chiba prefecture) in November, Vivit Square Mall is one of many examples of how foreign retailers and developers are seeking to bring major change to Japan. Thus, we are pleased to have the mall's developer as our specialist contributor this month, and he discusses some of the many lessons he learned about Japan, retailing and real estate as his firm works to open the Japan's first foreign-developed shopping center.
Special Report: A Look at Affymetrix and Japan's Biotech Industry
If Japan is ever going to create new industries and the investment and employment infrastructure needed to support them, biotech will likely be a primary focus. So we recently asked the former Representative Director of Affymetrix Japan, an important provider of biotech systems for genetic analysis, for his insights on the industry and to share his experiences with Affymetrix Japan. This report will be of particular interest to biotech investors and those interested in entrepreneurship in Japan.
Japan Insight: Get the Scoop
More on Lego Japan; Answering questions on Danisco Japan; A new Japan private equity directory; Etc.
From the Editors
Management fads...
Plus much more...
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