Information Releases

Corporate Impact Survey with respect to Britain’s Exit from the EU

51.3% of Companies see “Negative” Impact on Japan’s Economy
— Companies with direct investments in Britain to move to Asia, but also considering north and central America —

Introduction

Through a national referendum, Britain chose to exit (Brexit) the European Union (EU) on June 24, 2016 (Japan Time). It is believed that the impact of Brexit will not be limited to companies with investments in Britain and within the EU. Furthermore, the confusion in the EU will surely cause delays in reaching agreement on the “Economic Partnership Agreement between Japan and the EU” currently being negotiated, which raises concerns about wide-ranging impacts on Japanese companies with respect to trade with the EU and Japan’s participation in the EU market.

Therefore, Teikoku Databank has conducted a survey of the impacts Britain’s exit from the EU will have on companies. Note that this survey was conducted in conjunction with the August 2016 TDB Trends Research.

*The survey period was August 18 – August 31, 2016; Companies Surveyed: 23,700; Valid Responses: 10,508 (Response Rate: 44.3%).

*Details of this survey can be found on the dedicated Economic Trend Survey HP. (http://www.tdb-di.com).

Primary points of survey results(summary)

  1. 1 9.2% of the companies currently have investments in Britain or other EU member countries. 1.9% of the companies have direct investments in the form of established sales offices or local subsidiaries, while 7.5% have indirect investments in the form of business alliances and importing and exporting. In terms of scale, large companies have a higher propensity for direct investments. In terms of industry, while “manufacturing” and “wholesaling” hold the top positions, the “financial” industry holds the top position in terms of indirect investment.
  2. 2 In terms of investment destinations, “Germany” is top (35.9%), followed by “Britain” at 31.5%, “France” (23.3%), and “Italy” (21.4%). The most common relocation destination listed by investing companies was the “Asian Region” at 2.9%. After that came destinations “Within the EU (Specific Relocation Destination TBD)” at 1.6%, and “Italy” at 1.5%. Notably, among companies currently having direct investments in Britain, a total of 12.8% are considering or planning on relocating “Within the EU,” with the highest percentage, 7.7%, indicating locations “Within the EU (Specific Relocation Destination TBD),” followed by “Germany,” “France,” the “Asian Region,” and the “North and Central American Region” at 3.8% each.
  3. 3 51.3% of the companies recognize that Britain’s exit from the EU “will have a negative impact” on Japan’s economy. Most (62.6%) of the companies said that the exit would have “no impact” on their business activities while only 9.4% said it would have a “negative impact,” however, 46.2% of the companies having direct investments in Britain said that they had concerns the exit would have a negative impact.
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