Japanese Bank to tokenize Real Estate in Estonia
Japanese Merchant Bank MBK Co. Ltd., has signed a partnership with BitOfProperty (BOP), an Estonia-based platform in order to collaborate on security tokenization (STO) of Estonian real estate. "We're happy to announce that we've agreed to work together with the Estonian cryptoccurrency exchange Angoo Fintech," states the announcement. Thanks to the partnership, BOP will purchase the real estate, while MBK will convert the assets into the blockchain-based tokens, which will then be traded via Angoo Fintech. MBK has been active in the crypto-related and blockchain space since 2017. Back then, the bank formed a joint product with BtcBox, a Japanese exchange that was established in 2014 and registered with the Kanto Finance Bureau.



Hungary seeks closer ties with Tokyo
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has indicated that his country wants to boost economic ties with Asian nations, including Japan.
Szijjarto told NHK in Tokyo in early November that Japanese investors are the number one investors from Asia in Hungary, and there are 170 Japanese companies operating in the country that employ 33,000 Hungarians. He said these firms play an important role, and he hopes they will further improve or enhance their investment.
Szijjarto also said China is becoming the world's largest economy, and it has initiatives that definitely have an impact on Europe.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban is scheduled to lead a high-level delegation to Japan in early December, including several Ministers and HIPA president Robert Esik.



Japan's JBIC may launch investment fund in Serbia

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is considering the launch of an investment fund in Serbia, prime minister Ana Brnabic said. Serbia plans to soon start talks with JBIC for the launch of an investment fund to support the development of economic ties between the two countries, Brnabic said in early November.

The governor of JBIC, Tadashi Maeda, will visit Serbia for talks, said Brnabic during her official visit to Japan. JBIC is a public financial institution and export credit agency, wholly owned by the Japanese government. It operates in 18 countries with 21 offices.

Toyota Motor starts production of new 2.0-liter gasoline engine in Poland
The engine manufactured at the plant in Jelcz-Laskowice will be used for the RAV4 compact SUV assembled in Europe and also for a hybrid version of the Corolla sedan, according to Toyota Motor Europe.
The company is also planning to start the production of a 1.5-liter gasoline engine at the same Polish factory in spring 2020.
At its plant in Walbrzych, Toyota kicked off the production of a continuously variable transmission system in November 2018 and will begin manufacturing a new CVT system in 2021. The two CVT systems will be introduced in combination in hybrid vehicles.
The proportion of hybrid vehicles in Toyota's total vehicle sales in Europe reached 52 pct in the first half of 2019, on the back of a heightened awareness for environmental issues among European people.




Asahi rejects Polish fossil fuels with wind-energy deal
An Asahi-owned Polish brewery has signed a power purchase agreement with Innogy to supply all of its operations with clean electricity. From 2021 Innogy’s Nowy Staw wind farm in Poland will cover all the power needs of the 3 breweries owned by Kompania Piwowarska, which is part of Asahi Europe.

The PPA will run for 10 years, to 2029.

From 2020, Innogy’s 73MW Nowy Staw wind farm, near Gdansk, will supply 30 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy annually to Kompania Piwowarska, covering about 40% of the breweries’ electricity needs.

From 2021, the wind farm will cover 100% of Asahi’s Polish breweries’ power requirements through the planned expansion of the existing wind farm by up to 11MW.
Innogy plans to start building the Nowy Staw extension in 2020 and to bring online the following year. From then on Nowy Staw will supply up to 80GWh a year to the three Polish breweries.
The deal marks the first PPA in Poland in which the wind asset is not benefiting from any state subsidy.
Innogy renewables chief financial officer Holger Himmel said: “This deal is exemplary for the modern, competitive renewable energy world. It allows Asahi to run their production business in Poland in a climate-friendly manner by significantly cutting carbon emissions. It also enables us to expand our wind farm based on a PPA, meaning that no state subsidies will be involved. Together, we are demonstrating how climate protection is possible under market conditions.”
Asahi Breweries chief executive Paolo Lanzarotti said: “I am excited that as soon as in 2021, we will be brewing a third of our volume in Central Europe with 100% renewable electricity. This is the equivalent of three billion beer bottles every year. In Poland, we will thus be able to reduce our carbon footprint by 66% compared to 2019. This deal is a significant commitment that not only helps us come closer to the Asahi Group ambition of becoming carbon neutral across whole supply chain by 2050, but also lays the ground for Innogy to invest in a new onshore construction project that will support Poland’s transition towards renewable energy.”


US-Japanese firm MonoSol announces new manufacturing plant in Poland
Indiana-headquartered MonoSol, part of Tokyo-based global specialty chemical company Kuraray Group, is expanding its operations with the construction of a new manufacturing facility in Poland.  The new manufacturing plant in Poland is expected to create about 90 jobs.


Ukraine PM in Tokyo discusses Infrastructure projects with PM Abe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had a four-day working visit to Japan (October 21-24) during which he attended Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony. During a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Zelenskiy thanked him for his continued support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The two leaders discussed Japan's investments in infrastructure projects in Ukraine, noting that Japan's financial assistance to Kyiv had reached $1.8 billion since 2014.

Zelenskiy also raised the issue of introducing a visa-free regime for Ukrainians ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Japan already eased travel-visa requirements for Ukrainians in 2017.

During his visit, the Ukrainian president held talks with the leaders of Japan’s two legislative chambers, members of the Parliamentary Friendship Association with Ukraine, the management of Japan’s International Development Agency, and the Japan Association of New Economy, as well as business executives.

Japan has given Ukraine $50 million in humanitarian assistance meant for war victims, plus nearly $2 billion in grants and loans since the Maidan pro-democracy movement ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February 2014. It said Japan has also donated some 1,500 cars for Ukraine's revamped police force and provided money and advice for the country’s beleaguered health-care system.

Marubeni Corporation urged to invest in Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has invited the Japanese Marubeni Corporation to invest in projects in Ukraine, including the construction of waste recycling plants and roads. A meeting of the President of Ukraine with the Marubeni management was held in Tokyo in October.

“We are determined to carry out reforms. We are strengthening at the legislative level the protection of business from misconduct or inaction of permitting bodies,” the Head of State said, noting that a law had been signed in Ukraine in early October to stimulate investment activity, which should improve the investment climate.

The President also stressed that Ukraine was entering the final stage of large-scale privatization.

“We will prepare the legal framework for the privatization of more than 500 state-owned enterprises. Our priorities are: deregulation with the transition to online state services for business; liquidation of the shadow economy and corruption schemes; infrastructure development; optimization of the tax system; implementation of European standards in Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelensky stressed.

In addition, the President of Ukraine urged the representatives of the Japanese company to invest in waste recycling plants and road construction in Ukraine. “The government has recently estimated the length of roads of national importance - it is 44,000 kilometers. We will consider proposals for the construction of modern roads, ambitious concession projects,” Volodymyr Zelensky noted.

Representatives of Marubeni Corporation noted that they had already been supplying grain and dairy products from Ukraine to Japan and were looking to expand the list of agricultural products. They also implement environmental projects in Ukraine, such as supplying solar panels.
 

Ricoh finalizes acquisition of Bulgaria-active DocuWare

Ricoh has completed the acquisition of Germany-based document management and workflow automation solutions provider DocuWare, which holds a stake in software developer Nemetschek Bulgaria, the Bulgarian company.

"We expect the cooperation with Ricoh to open new horizons, and to further strengthen our participation in projects on a global level potentially leading to the expansion of our team," said Georgi Brashnarov, founder of Nemetschek Bulgaria.

Nemetschek has been working with DocuWare since 1998, according to the statement, and currently employs nearly 300 people in Bulgaria.

According to Bulgarian commercial register data, DocuWare controls a 20% stake in Nemetschek Bulgaria. GB Soft owns 60% interest in Nemetschek Bulgaria, while Germany's Nemetschek holds the remaining 20%. GB Soft is fully owned by Nemetschek Bulgaria's founder - Georgi Brashnarov.

Bulgarian President woos Japan

Bulgaria highly appreciates its relations with Japan and its friends who work to develop and strengthen them. This is what President Rumen Radev said at the ceremony held in the Bulgarian Embassy in Tokyo in late October, at which Japanese statesmen were awarded high Bulgarian state honors for their contribution to strengthening the bilateral relations and partnership between Bulgaria and Japan.

At the ceremony Rumen Radev emphasized that in the past decades the relations between Bulgaria and Japan have grown into a shared friendship and are developing on the basis of mutually-beneficial cooperation. Japan is among the countries that offered the greatest support to Bulgaria during the transition period. The President also voiced his gratitude for the support offered by Japan for the training of Bulgarian sportsmen that will represent our country at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.

The Head of State awarded the Order of the Madara Horseman, First Class to Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Chairman of the Japan-Bulgaria Friendship Group in the House of Representatives (lower house) of the National Diet, for his great contributions to strengthening and developing the relations of friendship and cooperation between Bulgaria and Japan. Hiromi Yoshida, former Chairman of the Japan-Bulgaria Friendship Group in the House of Councillors (upper house) of the National Diet, also received the Order of the Madara Horseman, First Class. The Order of the Madara Horseman, Second Class, was presented to Kazunori Tanaka, Minister of Reconstruction and Secretary-General of the Japan-Bulgaria Friendship Group in the House of Representatives of the National Diet and Junichi Ishii, MP and Secretary-General of the Japan-Bulgaria Friendship Group in the House of Councillors of the National Diet.

Akiko Igaya, Director-General of the Japanese-Bulgarian Association for Friendship and Cultural Relations and Director-General of the Japan-Bulgaria Foundation was awarded the Order of Stara Planina, Second Class, for her great contribution to strengthening and developing the bilateral friendly relations and cooperation with Japan.

Bulgaria and Japan have a great potential for developing their economic relations and also for strengthening the contacts among the people regarding the forthcoming biggest sports forum in 2020 – the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said, for his part.


October News:
Nordic Ninja invests in autonomous, electric transport system

NordicNinja VC ( a JV between JBIC IG Partners and BaltCap) has made another investment. In October, NN announced a series A investment in Einride, a Swedish company developing an autonomous, electric transport system, together with EQT Ventures fund (“EQT Ventures”). Other investors joining the round include Ericsson Ventures, Norrsken Foundation, Plum Alley Investments and Plug and Play Ventures.

Einride was founded in 2016 by Robert Falck, Filip Lilja and Linnéa Kornehed. Einride develops intelligent transportation solutions – sustainable, cost-effective and safe – and has gained global recognition for the Pod, the first truck specifically designed for electric propulsion and autonomous driving. This March, the Swedish Transport Agency concluded that the Einride Pod is able to operate in accordance with Swedish traffic regulations and approved Einride’s application to expand the pilot to a public road, which it did in May in collaboration with its customer and partner DB Schenker. Einride has ambitious plan to expand their business globally.

“Our ambition is to disrupt the transport industry and closing our series A brings us one step closer to that goal. The funding will allow us to start expanding in the US, deliver on our technology road map and to meet rapidly increasing customer demand”, says Robert Falck, CEO & founder of Einride.

“Einride’s solution in transportation solves the environmental, safety and manpower problems that have haunted the industry for years. Moreover, their fleet system has a unique potential to make long distance ground transport as reliable as water. This is truly revolutionary.” says Marek Kiisa, the Managing Partner of NordicNinja VC.

“Nowadays the road freight industry faces a lot of difficulty including driver shortage and it is forced to be disrupted. We are deeply impressed with what the team of Einride has achieved and we believe that their solution is essential in this industry all over the world.” says Tomosaku Sohara, the Managing Partner of NordicNinja VC.

NordicNinja VC started with over 100 million euros in January 2019 and is backed by Japanese blue-chip companies, Honda, Omron, and Panasonic, as well as the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. It aims to support scale-up goals in the Nordic and Baltic region through supporting the region’s startups expand into and develop business opportunities in Japan.


GS Yuasa invests Euro 27 million in lithium battery plant in Miskolc, Hungary
The company will start production with 51 people. The Hungarian government supported the investment with a HUF465mn grant. GS Yuasa started the construction of its Hungarian factory last year. It chose the northeastern industrial town close to the Slovakian border due to its developed infrastructure, the availability of renewable energy sources, mainly geothermal heating, and skilled workforce.
The company has more than 15,000 employees at 37 sites across 17 countries and recently began the switch-over from lead-acid to lithium-ion batteries, making major investments in the area. It is a major supplier of hybrid and electric cars (EVs).

Japan is the seventh-largest equity investor in Hungary, with 160 Japanese companies employing 34,000 people. Bilateral trade reached $2.2bn last year.

JTEKT to invest Euro 125 million in Romania bearing plant
Japanese group JTEKT will invest EUR 125 million in expanding production at its bearing factory, Koyo Romania, located in Teleorman (southern part of the country). The factory will thus become a supplier for the Toyota plant in Czech Republic.
On October 16, Stefan Radu Oprea, Romania’s minister for entrepreneurship and business environment, will meet Tetsuo Agata, President of JTEKT Corporation Japan, Hiroaki Ueda, President of JTEKT European Operations, and Francis Szabo Bush, President of JTEKT European Bearing, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Koyo Romania is currently the largest company in Teleorman county, with a turnover of EUR 77.7 mln in 2018 and almost 1,500 employees. The investment is the biggest one announced this year in the local auto sector, surpassing the EUR 55 mln project announced in Oradea earlier this year by the Italian group Sogefi Suspensions Eastern Europe.

日銀、エストニアの不動産をトークン化

日本の商業銀行、MBK Co., Ltd.はエストニアに基盤をもつプラットフォーム、BitOfProperty (BOP)と同国の不動産のセキュリティトークン化の分野での協業の為協定を結んだ。「エストニアの暗号通貨取引所Angoo Fintechとの協業を発表することができ非常に嬉しく思います」。このパートナーシップにより、BPOが購入した不動産の資産を
MBKはブロックチェーンに基づいたトークンに変換し、Angoo Fintechを通して、取引が行われます。MBKは2017年よりこの分野を強化しており、当時には2014年に設立され、関東財務局に登録をされているBtcBoxとの共同プロジェクトを立ち上げていた。


ハンガリーが東京に向ける熱い視線

ハンガリーの外務大臣 Peter Szijjarto氏は日本を含むアジア諸国との経済連携を教会したい旨を述べた。11月の初旬に執り行われた東京のNHKの取材に対し、Szijjarto氏は日本の投資家ハンガリーでのアジアからの投資第一位であり170社の日本企業が進出をしていると述べた。日本企業の雇用創出数は33,000人である。Szijjarto氏はさらに、これらの日本企業企業がはたしている役割は重要であり、さらなる投資の拡大と強化を期待していると述べた。日本だけでなく中国も世界最大級の経済圏となってきており、彼らのイニシアティヴも見逃すことのできないインパクトをヨーロッパに有しているとも述べた。
Viktor OrbanA首相は12月初旬に複数の大臣とHIPA代表のRobert Esik氏を含むハイレベル代表団の日本訪問を率いる予定だ。

国際協力銀行、セルビアに投資か

セルビアのAna Brnabic首相は国際協力銀行はセルビアでの投資基金の設立を視野に入れていると述べた。11月初旬にAna Brnabic首相は両国間の経済連携を強化するための国際協力銀行との投資基金に設立についての協議を近く開始すると発表した。

国際協力銀行の前田 匡史代表取締総裁が協議の為セルビアを訪問予定である旨を、Ana Brnabic首相は日本への公式訪問中に明かした。




トヨタモーター、新型2.0Lガソリンエンジンの生産をポーランドで開始

 Toyota Motor EuropeによるとJelcz-Laskowiceにある工場で清算されたエンジンはヨーロッパで組み立てられるRAV4 compact SUV に使用されるほかハイブリッド型のカローラにも使用される。2020年春には、同工場にて1.5lのガソリンエンジンの生産も開始予定。
Walbrzychの工場では、2018年11月に無段変速機の生産を開始しており、2021年には新たなCVTシステムの生産を開始予定。これらの2つのCVTシステムは、ハイブリッド車にて結合されて使用される予定。
ヨーロッパにおけるトヨタのハイブリッド車の売り上げは 2019年前期で52 pctに達しており、ヨーロッパの人々の環境に対する意識の向上に支えられている。

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