Japan Inc set M&A record in 2011

The extraordinarly strong yen - it has appreciated by 45% against the dollar in past four years - sent Japanese companies on a shopping spree abroad. With a cash pile of JPY60 trillion big listed companies are sitting on, it's no wonder corporate Japan spent a record $80 billion on some 620 foreign companies in 2011, exceeding the previous record of 466 acquisitions worth of $75 billion in 2008, according to Dealogic. The Economist's article sees this as not a sign of strength but weakness. The situation it argues is different from the Japan's corporate shopping spree in 1980s when the businesses in Japan were growing. Nowadays, a combination of Japan economy being sluggish, including March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster, floods in Thailand, corporate-governance scandals, ageing population, lacklustre consumption and thanks to crises elsewhere makes Japan Inc seek opportunities abroad, especially in fast-growing emerging markets. Source: The Economist | Japanese firms shop abroad: Armed with a strong yen http://econ.st/sy4CjY

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