Taiwan mango industry takes a bruising
Farmers and vendors are working hard to preserve this mainstay of Taiwan's fruit industry.
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Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
FSA eager to back regional bank realignment
Financial Services Agency Commissioner Yutaka Ito has expressed eagerness to support the realignment of regional banks to enhance financial services in Japan. "We will do our best to support consolidations and mergers if they contribute to the provision of high-quality regional financial services," Ito said in a recent interview. Ito, who took office in July, stressed that cooperation with nonfinancial businesses is also crucial for the management of regional lenders. "In order to make the management foundation sustainable, options such as reorganization, standardization of operations and collaboration with nonfinancial businesses should be considered," he said. Although financial institutions' profits are improving thanks to interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, the environment surrounding such institutions "will change rapidly from now on," Ito said, claiming that they "need to make management decisions now." The FSA plans to draw up a program to strengthen regional financial capabilities by the end of this year, which will include the extension and expansion of the public fund injection system. Ito showed eagerness to establish a backup system to maintain financial functions in the event of natural disasters. He also expressed his intention to improve the subsidy system that can be used on the occasions of mergers and business integrations. Meanwhile, malicious fraudulent loans have been discovered at regional credit cooperative Iwaki Shinkumi Bank in Fukushima Prefecture where public funds were injected after the March 2011 major earthquake and tsunami. "We need to ensure appropriate business operations," Ito said. "At the minimum, we have to conduct business management and prevent fraudulent practices at institutions in which we have equity participation." In recent years, there have been a series of scandals in the financial industry, such as illicit automobile insurance claims and safe deposit box thefts. "If we take superficial measures, problems will arise again," Ito said, calling for reforms after finding out the root causes.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Japan Times
General contractor Taisei to buy out Toyo Construction
Major general contractor Taisei said Friday that it will acquire marine civil engineering company Toyo Construction for about ¥160 billion (about $1.1 billion). Taisei is aiming to buy all Toyo Construction shares partly through a tender offer. Toyo Construction expressed support for the tender offer, which will run from Tuesday to Sept. 24. Each share will be purchased at ¥1,750 in the tender offer. Both companies are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's top-tier Prime section. The stock of Toyo Construction closed at ¥1,644 on Friday. All procedures related to the acquisition are expected to be completed at the end of December. Through the move, the two companies hope to expand their business and strengthen their earnings power while streamlining operations, amid persistent labor shortages and elevated material prices. Combined consolidated sales at Taisei and Toyo Construction in the business year to March 2025 stood at about ¥2.32 trillion, close to some ¥2.62 trillion at Obayashi, the second-largest player in the Japanese construction industry, in the same year. Yamauchi No. 10 Family Office (YFO), the asset management company for the founding family of Japanese game giant Nintendo, has an equity stake of 28.53% in Toyo Construction. Infroneer Holdings owns 20.19% of Toyo Construction through subsidiary Maeda, a Japanese general contractor. In the past, YFO and Infroneer Holdings separately proposed a tender offer to Toyo Construction. However, neither company ultimately launched such a move. YFO and Maeda are expected to sell their Toyo Construction stakes to Taisei. At a news conference Friday, Taisei Chairman Shigeyoshi Tanaka said he believes that his company and Toyo Construction will be able to leverage their respective prowess in construction projects related to decarbonization and offshore wind power generation for which demand is expected to grow. Toyo Construction Chairman Shinya Yoshida cited large benefits, such as synergy effects, for the company's decision to become a Taisei unit. The Japanese construction industry has seen other recent realignment moves. Infroneer Holdings announced in May that it would acquire Sumitomo Mitsui Construction for about ¥94 billion.
Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Japan starts survey on foreign nationals' unpaid resident taxes
The internal affairs ministry has started a survey of all municipalities on the collection of the individual resident tax from foreign workers who left Japan in 2024. The resident tax is collected every fiscal year based on the previous year's income. In the most recent regular session of parliament, problems were highlighted regarding some foreign workers leaving Japan without paying outstanding taxes after completing their stay periods. The ministry will consider measures over such unpaid taxes after understanding the situation through the survey covering the period between Aug. 1 and Sept. 1. The survey will check the number of cases and the amount of unpaid taxes. It will also look into the situation on the use of a lump-sum collection system in which employers pay workers' resident tax that could not be deducted from their wages. In addition, the survey will confirm the number of cases of the use of tax agents who manage taxation procedures for foreigners leaving Japan. Some foreign workers are believed to return to their countries without paying mandatory taxes as they do not understand the Japanese taxation system. The ministry included in its survey questions about municipalities' efforts to notify them of the system.
