In the online survey conducted by Japanese staffing firm Pasona Group Inc. last December, 57 percent of Japanese companies in Vietnam and 55 percent in India said they will expand operations in the host countries, compared with the average of 39 percent among all 11 countries and territories polled.
    |
 |
|
A Japan-invested company in Ha Nam province |
Of the 818 companies polled, 67 percent said they plan to keep the current level of their bases and operations in the 11 economies.
Twenty percent said they plan to add and strengthen functions of their bases as regional headquarters, partly due to difficulties in making business trips to and from head offices in Japan amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey said.
According to the survey, 30 percent of Japanese companies in Thailand, 28 percent in Malaysia and 22 percent in Hong Kong (China) said they have downsized posted staff or plan to do so within the next three months.
The growing trend of remote work brought on by the pandemic coupled with high real estate prices has also encouraged firms to downscale offices, with at least 15 percent in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia saying they have or plan to do so.
Meanwhile, 43 percent of respondents in Vietnam said they have expanded offices or plan to do so.
The economies covered by the survey are the US, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan (China), the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India.
Source: VNA