Recognized as one of Taiwan’s most prestigious law firms, Tsar & Tsai has acted as a full-service law firm since 1965 and the firm’s team of expert lawyers has a special interest in Japan.

“Japanese companies need Taiwanese lawyers who are not only fluent in Japanese and can understand Japan’s corporate culture, but also provide legal services in English, especially for large-scale projects across multiple jurisdictions,” Lin said. “Tsar & Tsai is able to successfully assist Japanese clients as many of our lawyers are fluent in both Japanese and English.”

Relationships between Japanese companies and their Taiwan business partners can sometimes present challenges. Many Japan-Taiwan joint ventures bring together Japanese listed companies and small to midsize Taiwanese firms.

“Even as a majority shareholder in a joint venture, Japanese companies can face regulatory challenges in Taiwan,” Lin said.

“Stringent compliance regulations are often imposed on Taiwan-listed companies and Taiwanese businesses are often unaware of the legalities applicable to their joint ventures. Taiwanese companies are more familiar with the local market and often manage joint ventures, so in order to minimize risk, Japanese companies need expert legal advice.”

While many Taiwanese law firms are able to provide corporate and litigation services in Japanese, Tsar & Tsai has a wealth of experience in providing Japanese-language legal services across corporate, foreign investment, competition law, biotechnology, cryptocurrency and dispute resolution practice areas.

“As a leading Taiwan-based law firm and a specialist in Taiwan law, we are proud of our ability to provide legal services in multiple languages,” Lin said. “Moving forward, we look forward to working closely with our Japanese friends here in Taiwan.”

www.tsartsai.com.tw

The government is currently in full force to simplify bureaucratic procedures of these policies such as the Economic Freedom Law and the newly signed provisory law (medida Provisoria/MP), which aims to enhance entrepreneurship in the region.

Ueno Profit participates with the country in transforming these laws and policies by proposing ways to improve them. “These changes are for the benefit of society and provide opportunities for new companies to contribute to the growth of Brazil’s economy,” Ueno stated.

Currently operating in São Paulo, Indaiatuba and Porto Alegre, Ueno Profit continues to look for more ways to improve. As the company celebrates its 25th anniversary this 2020, they are implementing the integrated management of interdisciplinary consulting with technological innovation anticipating future trends.

“We are excited to offer the new Ueno Profit as Brazil develops to be a better business environment and a positive outlook for Japanese investments,” Ueno concluded.

www.uenoprofit.com.br

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Companies no longer operate in a space that solely relies on “impressions” to show results. Rather, the kind of work they do today lies at the intersection of digital, marketing, research and analytics, allowing communications to bring real business impact to brands by tailoring campaigns, messaging and strategy to speak directly to target consumers.

Technology has played an almost central role in broadening one’s ability to achieve this, integrating communications more cohesively with digital and data and introducing disruptive trends such as AI, VR, AR and voice recognition to better appeal to, surprise and engage the predominantly mobile-first Chinese audiences. In fact, R3’s fifth annual survey of agencies in China revealed that more than half of the marketers and communications leaders interviewed were involved in some form of social communications, event/BTL marketing, advertising and digital marketing. This business landscape makes it increasingly important for consultancies to challenge the traditional agency model and pursue a more integrated and flexible form of communications.

Just last year at Ruder Finn China, the company began adopting a new Integrated Marketing Communications approach in all its client engagements, offering a complete arc of strategy, web, digital, online, media, social media and advertising capabilities. Teams now reflect a combination of integrated skills, expertise and resources that enable it to respond quickly to up-and-coming trends, leverage channels, devices and platforms trusted by consumers, and, most importantly, ensure that the company delivers creative, data-driven work for its clients.

When it comes to building strong teams, however, the industry needs more than just diverse skillsets; it also demands diversity in opinions and perspectives in the workplace. This means having more women in the room, in management and at the executive table, breaking barriers, leading decisions and driving the industry forward. Business performance today also supports the idea that having a diverse leadership results in more positive business outcomes.

A 2018 report by McKinsey found that companies in Asia-Pacific that were in the top quarter for gender diversity on their executive teams were 21% more likely to achieve above-average profitability. In the communications industry, where women oftentimes make up the majority of the workforce, the major challenge is ensuring women in the workplace are given equal opportunity and support to advance to the most senior positions.

Currently, the global CEO of Ruder Finn, Kathy Bloomgarden, and Elan Shou, as Regional Director of Ruder Finn Asia, are both women. In the company’s Hong Kong office, for example, its account leads and General Manager are also women. Gender diversity is a core part of the Ruder Finn DNA.

As the group continues to strengthen its operations in China and across Asia-Pacific, empowering its teams and creating workplace environments that cater to the growth of both women and men remain as top priorities so that it would be able to charge ahead as a more inclusive, intuitive and successful business.

www.ruderfinn.com
www.ruderfinnasia.com

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CFC’s business community includes more than 180 members, with a footprint in 46 African countries. They are active across four major categories: financial companies, regional headquarters of multinational companies, service providers and holding companies.

Now recognized as one of the world’s most promising financial centers, CFC has also built a strong network of international partners, comprised of 12 international financial centers and 18 African investment promotion agencies, which are part of the “South-South partnerships”.

“We offer our members an attractive value proposition in a modern business environment with streamlined processes including administrative fasttracks, facilitation of people and capital flow and a fully operational international mediation and arbitration center in Casablanca. In parallel, a premium ‘Doing Business’ personalized support is available to our members so as to allow them to devote their focus towards their core business development. CFC is proud to contribute to Africa’s economic dynamism by accompanying world-leading companies. We cater to our community, while committing to promote our members’ expertise and enabling fruitful business synergies through our networking platform,” said Said Ibrahimi, CEO of Casablanca Finance City.

www.casablancafinancecity.com

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“There has never been a better time for Japanese enterprises to invest in Vietnam,” said Duc. “The economic landscape has changed over the past decade and today provides more opportunities for Japanese investors and smalland mid-sized enterprises who are looking to capitalize on the dynamic local market, especially within the Mekong Delta’s agriculture and aquaculture industries.”

“Thanks to government initiatives, the Vietnamese private sector and SMEs are developing at an encouraging rate and becoming key factors in the country’s success. Our prime objective at VCG is to bring together these enterprises and those from Japan in order for them to collaborate and develop business together, especially in the food industry and food services sectors,” said Duc.

VCG has gone on to become the leading SME service provider in Vietnam. The company has supported thousands of local and international SMEs across the country since 2000 and also collaborates with organizations such as the International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit.

VCG has also co-founded two Innovation Hubs, a coworking space and a center for startups. The first being the Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) with support from HCM City People’s Committee. The second, Mekong Innovation hub (MEHUB), was co-founded last year in Can Tho, the Mekong’s capital city, together with the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a Japanese partner, fueling the private sector development of the region. VCG are now designing the MIHUB center, which will be the first smart building within the Mekong region, coinciding with its 20th anniversary.

With the assistance of Japanese Official Development Assistance, the region’s recent infrastructure projects have sped up migration and urbanization into cities like Can Tho. This in turn, has fueled the booming real estate industry.

“We have collaborated with local authorities and Japanese businesses to optimize the urban design and development in these cities,” said Duc.

VCG collaborates with Japanese consulting firms and market leaders, organizing hundreds of training workshops and project- consulting events. The company works closely with chambers of commerce to bring Vietnamese and Japanese SMEs together at sporting events, trade fairs and business matching programs in Japan and Vietnam to promote bilateral trade.

In 2014, VCG brought Brainwork, one of their Japanese partners, to Can Tho, in order to connect with the local chamber of commerce. This led to the creation of Japan-Mekong Festival Week. “This year, we visited Hokkaido to promote the fourth Japan-Mekong Festival Week summit, which will be held in Can Tho this November,” said Duc. “Together with Brainwork and VCCI Cantho, we hope to bring 300 Japanese visitors to the Mekong for our sport, racing and business matching events.”

Last year, the Japan-Mekong Festival was attended by more than 130 Japanese representatives. This year’s fourth Japan-Mekong Festival is expected to attract twice this number.

“The relationship between Japan and Vietnam have blossomed. The central and local government have recently confirmed that Japan must be the major international partner for the Mekong’s development for the coming decade, and Can Tho will be the entry point to the region’s development,” said Duc. “This is very encouraging for local SMEs and indeed the region’s agriculture industry. Our mission is to help nurture future partnerships and ensure Vietnamese enterprises grow together with their Japanese counterparts.”

www.vietnamconsulting.com/en/

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In association with Amereller, Mena Associates has extensive experience in all aspects of business law and knows the local environment to successfully negotiate joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions.

“We have a multilingual office in Cairo and can fully support our international clients,” said Ingy Rasekh, managing partner, Egypt. “We work very closely with various Japanese companies to support their activities in Egypt.”

Rasekh is confident that the Egypt-Japan relationship will continue to thrive and intends to work more closely with Japanese companies in Egypt and the region. “Our Dubai office has a dedicated ‘Japan Desk’ with Japanese nationals and native speakers with whom we work very closely. We look forward to continuing to serve our Japanese clients.”

www.amereller.com

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The approach of EurAsia Competence is based on a comparative theory of culture. The theory provides the background to understand cultural differences beyond empirical and generic generalizations.

Based on this pioneering work, EurAsia Competence built its proprietary “culture grid.” The tool forms the base for services in the field of cultural due diligence. The theoretical base of the tool allows a clear differentiation between strategic and organizational development in all corresponding fields of leadership and management. Tailor-made solutions will allow us to inform, train and, if demanded, coach boards and executive teams, as well as management and employees on lower company levels.

EurAsia Competence has established an extensive partner network and has close connections with Swiss and Japanese institutions to source talent and competencies during projects.

“Company culture, while based on a firm’s country of origin in the context of its global expansion plans, requires constant alignment of cross-cultural elements and values throughout the organization to deliver on respective targets and objectives,” said Sorg.

“We help Japanese firms expanding across Europe and provide our services to European firms that are in the process of expanding their presence in Asia. Our unique approach to understanding the decision-making processes across cultures enables our clients to communicate more effectively, optimize the company’s performance and ultimately raise their bottom lines.”

For further information refer to: www.eurasiacompetence.com

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“We are strong in delivering solutions to clients active in mechanical and electrical engineering and chemistry and also those in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, software and computer technology,” said Jacobus Sonderhoff, head of Rentsch Partner’s Japan Desk. “As most of our clients are export-oriented, international patent applications are regularly filed, particularly for Japan. On the other hand, we assist Japanese firms not only with Swiss, but also European intellectual property rights.”

Today, Switzerland is recognized as having one of the highest numbers of patents and other IP rights per capita.

“Together with Swiss SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) and ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich) affiliated institutes, we already operate in a very innovation-driven economy and receive regular inquiries regarding IP applications, recently also relating to blockchain technologies,” said Sonderhoff. “With the upcoming Patent Box regime, taxes on IP-generated revenue would be reduced by up to 90 percent, and this will be bolstered further by the R&D (research and development) super tax deduction.”

“There is increased awareness of distributed ledger technology,” said Benz. “Innovative technologies are becoming commonplace in the banking and financial services, property and real estate, supply chain management and logistics industries. We are seeing Japanese clients come to Switzerland to establish a European presence for their blockchain business projects.”

From technology and innovation to quality, precision and service, Benz and Sonderhoff both agree that the Swiss and the Japanese share many common characteristics.

“In terms of our legal practices, our shared goal is to stay ahead of the curve regarding new technologies,” said Benz.

“We will continue to take a leading position regarding the advice we provide clients relating to the legal implications of the new technologies we see entering the global economy.”

www.froriep.com
www.rentschpartner.ch/en/

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“We also worked with Hitachi Spain to develop publishing and communication solutions for their air conditioning division and with NTT Data, through Everis, to create a strategy, branding initiative and website for their new international consultancy agency.”

“Communication in Japan often focuses on the functional benefits of the products rather than the ‘human factor.’ Through our expertise, we balance out the functionality and emotion to create designs with impact. We launched a series of events ‘Japanese Technology Meets Spanish Design,’ one of which was incorporated into the latest ‘Erretres Open Lab’ (EOL), a platform for professionals to discuss and synthesize great ideas.”

“We have held several conferences in Japan in the past, and our first international EOL event was held in Tokyo in September. We have also been communicating in Japanese through our website and social media platforms. We intend to accelerate our activities in the Japanese market and share our exciting adventures in Japan,” Ordás said.

info@erretres.com
www.erretres.com

The company has built a strong reputation in Poland by offering a full-range of products and services for passenger cars and commercial vehicles and now manages a fleet of over 10,000 vehicles.

The integration with PCL means Hitachi Capital Polska has also become a leader in the electro-mobility (e-mobility) automotive sector. The company plans to expand its products and services and has plans to deliver ‘e-mobility’ solutions along with other mobility products to clients across the country.

“At Hitachi Capital Polska our people are highly competent and enthusiastic and focus on understanding clients’ business needs and providing fleet solutions that are optimal. We take into account: total cost, safety, environmental, reliability and customer satisfaction. Our goal is to understand and support our clients and enhance their own business through our activities. In doing so, we operate the highest standards of business practice based on integrity, transparency, shared goals and professionalism. We do not stand still and are committed to continual improvement and expansion of our innovative solutions. The combination of our long-term strategy and our respect for people has enabled Hitachi Capital Polska to create a reputation as a trusted partner to our customers through best in class-service,” said Eric Van Vliet, CEO and President of the board.

“We do business in an honest way and remain committed to developing strong relationships with all of our clients,” concluded Toru Tanigami, Board Member of Hitachi Capital Polska.

www.hitachicapital.pl