The Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) promoted Slovakia in Japan by a series of seminars and activities co-organized with the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo between 12 – 16 October 2015. The first seminar within the Slovak Investment Roadshow in Japan took place at the International House of Japan in Tokyo on Tuesday October 13, 2015. The official program of the seminar was opened by H.E. Michal Kottman, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo and Mr. Shinji Maruyama, Director, International Division, JETRO Tokyo. Mr. Robert Simoncic, CEO of SARIO delivered the presentation Business friendly Slovakia introducing the value proposition for investors interested to set up new factories or launch business activities in Slovakia. Further presentation was delivered by Mr. Yuji Komiya, Partner, CPA, AZSA LLC from KPMG on the topic Tax system of the Slovak Republic. The seminar offered an opportunity to learn about the latest success story from Japan, how the company Akebono Brake Systems established its factory in Trencin, Slovakia. The presentation was provided by Mr. Paul Abbott, Senior Manager from Corporate Planning Dpt., Akebono. The seminar was also supported by the Japan External Trade Organization JETRO Tokyo and Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This joint effort of all organizers allowed the seminar to become an excellent platform for promoting Slovak investment environment, which was attended by more than sixty participants. The second investment promotion activity was a roundtable on the M&A market in Slovakia taking place at the premises of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo on Wednesday October 14, 2015. The official program of the seminar was opened by H.E. Michal Kottman, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo and Mr. Robert Simoncic, CEO, SARIO who explained the strong sectors of the Slovak economy and major indicators of economic stability of Slovakia. The main presentation of the M&A market in Slovakia was presented by Mr. Jozef Mathia, Partner, EY Transaction Advisory Services. The information presented provided an excellent ground for further discussion and allowed participants of the seminar to explore opportunities in merger and acquisitions environment in Slovakia. As an illustration of a joint partnership between a Slovak and a Japanese company was a presentation by Mr. Haruhiko Kondo, General Manager, Strategic Planning Department on the success story of the Joint Venture between the Japanese company SMK and the Slovak company Logomotion. The roundtable targeted representatives of major banks, who are collecting opportunities on behalf of their clients. Together the partners from EY, the roundtable event was well received among the targeted participants who were representatives of major Japanese banks collecting potential opportunities on behalf of their clients. Mr Robert Simoncic was honored as a guest speaker at the seminar of the Japanese bank Mizuho organized on Wednesday October 14, 2015 in Tokyo. The seminar was dedicated to the clients of Mizuho Bank to receive valuable information on the investment climate in Central and Eastern Europe. CEO of SARIO emphasized the strength of the entire region and how it is still ready to attract more FDI and offers a suitable gateway to Western European markets, but also to those in the East. In addition, Mr. Simoncic also presented individually Slovakia, highlighted the advantages of the country and investing in it. The presentation illustrated how Slovakia became a superpower in automotive sector, a strong talking point in front of Japanese companies proving the country’s great performance and productivity results in the industrial sector. The fourth investment seminar was in Osaka on the premises of My Dome, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) held on Thursday October 15th 2015. The audience was greeted by H.E. Michal Kottman, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo who also opened the seminar together with Mr. Tomohiro Imai, International Division, OCCI. Presentation on behalf of SARIO on the topic Why to do business in Slovakia was delivered by Ms Timea Balazova Hlohinec, Senior Consultant, SARIO. The next speaker, Mr. Matej Bosnak, Country Managing Partner, EY Slovakia talked about Slovakia as suitable investment location, focusing more on how the tax systems works and explained how to establish a company and means of entering the market. Also in Osaka, a Japanese success story was presented, and this time by Mr. Takashi Tsumori, Director of Corporate Planning Office from the Panasonic Corporation. The ultimate goal of each investment seminar was to place Slovakia on the map for potential Japanese investors, highlight the reasons why to invest in the CEE and especially in the Slovakia Republic. It is necessary to emphasize in front of the Japanese audience the doing business in Slovakia from legal perspective and present the existing opportunities in order to support the Slovak-Japanese business relations and boost Japanese investments in Slovakia. Over 110 participating Japanese companies in addition to further 80 representatives present at the Mizuho bank seminar perceived the events valuably informative and fruitful for their upcoming business plans. During the Slovak Investment Roadshow in Japan 2015 SARIO and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo organized individual meetings with JETRO Tokyo, with successfully established Japanese companies in Slovakia and other Japanese companies currently registered with SARIO and seriously considering investing in Slovakia. Slovakia was promoted in Japan with its core value proposition for investment and business opportunities by SARIO delegation: Mr. Robert Simoncic, CEO, Ms. Timea Balazova Hlohinec and Ms. Andrea Mihalickova, Senior Consultants from the Investment Projects Department . The integral part of the entire Slovak Investment Roadshow in Japan was the involvement of Mr. Branislav Pochaba, Economic Diplomat from the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo and support received from H.E. Michal Kottman, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Tokyo. The roadshow was actively supported by Mr. Matej Bosnak and Mr. Jozef Mathia, EY Slovakia, member of the Investment Support Association (ISA). Japan is one of the most important economic partners of Slovakia from Asia. Almost 50 Japanese companies have invested in Slovakia and created up to 10 thousand job positions in various sectors. The Slovak Investment Roadshow in Japan 2015 successfully promoted Slovakia in Japan according to the acknowledgement of the Japanese companies which have already discovered Slovakia and most importantly the roadshow has established new business leads for Slovakia. You may go through the galery of pictures from all four seminars below the text.
