Kansai's first "Business Matching Event with Asian Cross-border EC Companies"

February 2017

On February 21, JETRO held "Business Matching Event with Asian Cross-border EC Companies" in Osaka.

According to "The E-commerce Market Survey" compiled by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the volume of sales in Japan through Chinese cross-border EC platforms doubled from 390.2 billion yen to 795.6 billion yen in the two-year period from 2013 to 2015. Eyeing this trend, and as part of a series of events on the topic following one held in Tokyo last October, the "Business Matching Event with Asian Cross-border EC Companies" was held in Osaka for the purpose of providing Japanese companies based in Kansai or elsewhere with support for expansion of sales networks in Asia and also creating business matching opportunities for EC companies engaged in cross-border commerce in Asia. The event was joined by eight Chinese and Taiwanese cross-border EC companies and 200 Japanese companies interested in expanding overseas, and involved a lively exchange of information.

At the opening of the event Shinya Fujii, Director-General of JETRO Osaka, delivered welcoming remarks. He pointed out the benefits of cross-border EC, explaining that companies in the field do not only provide opportunities for setting up shops on the web but also comprehensive services for delivering goods to overseas consumers, from carrying out export procedures and financial settlements to domestic delivery. EC companies, he continued, are emerging as a new-type of business partner which can provide Japanese companies who want to expand sales overseas with opportunities to develop the necessary networks with ease, especially for SMEs, who face difficulties in obtaining international business knowhow or employing global talent.

In the first session, the Deputy Director of the Lifestyle-Related Industry Division within JETRO's Manufacturing Industry Department, Ayumu Kusaba, gave a presentation on the Asian EC market and how to utilize cross-border EC platforms. He pointed out that the barriers for entering the EC business for Japanese manufacturers have been lowered due to deregulation in tax and legal systems, such as the reduction of the consumption tax on cosmetics which came into force in September 2016, a fact which is easily visible through signs such as the rapid expansion of the EC business in China.

In the second session, cross-border EC companies (bolome, Fun Q Japan, Hangzhou Seagoor International Trading , Inagora, JD.com, PChome, Vipshop Japan, Tencent Japan) explained their respective business models and strengths, and emphasized that immense benefits await Japanese companies which utilize cross-border EC platforms for overseas expansion.

In the third session, which comprised of individual consultation, cross-border EC companies set up booths to engage in business talks with the Japanese companies one-on-one. The Japanese companies brought their products with them and sold their strengths to the Chinese companies, while receiving consultation on the actual business process from setting up an E-commerce outlet to conducting sales. At the JETRO’s consultation booth, an adviser from JETRO provided information on regulations and ways to enter the cross border EC market.

Comments from participants included "We were able to come in contact with business routes and companies which are hard to come across in the usual course of business and develop new opportunities,” and “It was very beneficial to be able to compare many cross-border EC companies all at once as we have not had the opportunity to do so until now.