The Government of Catalonia travels to Japan to promote economic relations between both territories

• The Catalan Government joins FC Barcelona’s tour in Asia to boost foreign investment attraction to Catalonia, through the organization of two events under the name ‘Barcelona Catalonia Talks. Business and Barça’ with the participation of Japanese companies from different sectors.
• According to Catalonia Trade & Investment’s data, Japan is currently the first Asian country with more companies established in Catalonia with 254.
• The Catalan Minister of Business and Knowledge, Àngels Chacón, presented Catalonia as “a very attractive investment destination for Asian companies” and highlighted that Japanese investment in Catalonia “has doubled in the last five years, up to 448.8 MEUR”.

The Minister of Business and Knowledge, Àngels Chacón, has travelled this week to Japan in order to boost trade relations between both territories. The Government joins FC Barcelona during its tour in Asia to promote the attraction of foreign investment in Catalonia.

Within the framework of the mission, which will be held until Saturday 27th, Minister Chacón will visit Japanese companies. For instance, in Tokyo area, during the week she will hold a work meeting with AGC and will also visit the Virtual Reality Showroom of Toppan Printing, both companies being present in Catalonia. Minister Chacón will also meet with representatives of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan’s top financial institution, that has an office in Barcelona, and will visit the facilities of the Japanese Lifull, which offers internet services, as well as Nissin Oillio, which specialises in oil for food and industrial use.

In Nagoya, Minister Chacón will visit the headquarters of the Japanese multinational company DENSO, one of the world's main automotive component manufacturers that employs around 1000 workers at its factory in Catalonia. Finally, in Kobe, the Minister of Business and Knowledge will visit the factory of industrial robotics of Kawasaki.

During these meetings with Japanese companies, Minister Chacón will be accompanied by the CEO of Catalonia Trade & Investment, Joan Romero, and the director of the Trade & Investment Office in Tokyo, Yuko Kijimoto.

‘Barcelona Catalonia Talks. Business and Barça’

On the other hand, the Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council will organise two events, in Tokyo and Kobe, under the name ‘Barcelona Catalonia Talks. Business and Barça’ during which they will present Catalonia’s attraction as a destination for Asian companies to invest in. Therefore, Minister Chacón will meet with high ranking executives of Japanese companies representing sectors such as pharmaceutical and life sciences; industrial technology, videogame, food and beverage or printing, among others.

Trade relationship between Catalonia and Japan

According to Catalonia Trade & Investment's data, Japan is currently the first Asian country with more companies established in Catalonia, with 254. To promote the internationalisation of Catalan companies in Japan, Catalonia Trade & Investment is present in this country since 1988, when it opened its first Foreign Trade and Investment Office, a network that now has 40 offices that serve more than a hundred markets. Thus, in 2018, exports from Catalonia to Japan totalled almost 850 million euros, while more than 2,600 Catalan companies export in this market.

In this sense, Minister Chacón highlighted Catalonia as “a very attractive investment destination for Asian companies” and emphasized that Japan's investment in Catalonia “has doubled in the last five years” (2014-2018) compared to the previous five-year period. Thus, the investment in this period reached 448.8 million euros (17.4% of the total Japanese investment in Spain). The main investment sectors of Japan in Catalonia over the last five years are vehicles (47.9% of the total), ICT services (17.9%) and retail (11.2%).