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ASJ,Inc.

We interviewed the representatives of the foreign companies that have chosen Chiba.

A good partner for Japanese companies in ASEAN market

President
Shigeru Koda

Company introduction

ASJ,Inc. is a Japanese subsidiary of Ayala systems, which is the IT business division of Ayala Group, Philippines’s largest conglomerate. In November 2006 the company established a foothold in Chiba for services in the Japanese market.

Q: First tell us about your business.

Our company is a Japanese subsidiary of Ayala group, the largest financial conglomerate in the Philippines.
The Ayala group is a corporate entity representing the Philippines with a history of more than 175 years, having been founded in 1834, the year Isamu Kondo, commander of the Shinsengumi, was born.Originating from Spain’s trade relations with the orient, the group has expanded into the banking, real estate, and communications businesses in accordance with the changing times. These are still the main businesses of the group. In the 2000’s, the group placed new business as it’s 4th pillar and invested actively in the global market, including Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).

Ayala systems, our parent company and a pioneer of the IT industry in the Philippines, has started making the best use of the high skill level in IT and English competence of the country’s human resources to actively branch out into the BPO field.
Last year NCS, a subsidiary of Singapore’s largest communication company, the SingTel Group, became a major-shareholder of Ayala Systems. This has further increased our capabilities in IT development and support services in the ASEAN region.

The aim of our company is to become a good partner for Japanese customers by utilizing our resources and skills to develop together in the overseas markets.

We have three main business fields.
First of all, we make on-shore/off-shore software development.
We have replaced mission-critical and information systems developed by mainframe with open source system in financial industry and realized a great reduction in costs.
In addition, our customer can save cost a lot by using our Off-shore capabilities for version up and maintenance work of package software.

Second, we provide system support service.
In case of adopting Japanese production control systems in factories overseas, our bilingual IT engineers are well appreciated by customers as they can make quick and proper actions in English when some abnormal issues occur in overseas factories.

Third, we make sales & marketing support for Japanese companies trying to expand overseas market.
With the domestic market shrinking, many Japanese companies are accelerating their expansion into the global market.We can promptly deal with the various needs of our customers with our sales and support network of Ayala and the SingTel group.

Q: Why did you decide to come to Chiba?

ASJ registered in Japan on November 20 in 2006. We moved to the Foreign Affiliates Startup Center (FASuC) in Chiba Prefecture December 1, 2006.
As our first move in entering the Japanese market, we leased an incubation facility from JETRO in Akasaka, Tokyo, in 2006.
When the lease term of the JETRO facility came to end, we were introduced to many potential offices. Chiba Prefecture was very enthusiastic in its invitation, and we decided to move to the Foreign Affiliates Start-up Center (FASuC) in Makuhari, Chiba.
We were also persuaded by various factors including Chiba’s incentives programs, the quality of the FASuC facilities, and consulting options.
The advisors were an especially important factor in choosing Chiba. Their advisors were former trading company employees and had a lot of overseas business experience. They have provided us excellent support for our business in Japan by putting themselves in our shoes and paying attention to details.

Q: How is the use of Foreign Affiates Start-up Center(FASuC) ?

We are quite satisfied with FASuC. Our office space is about 45㎡ and a very good size for starting company.
When we need bigger space, there are much larger rooms available.
Being close to Narita airport is other advantage of FASuC. When we travel on business abroad or have guests from the Philippines, it is very convenient for both us and them because they can take an airport shuttle bus directly to a hotel, which locates just walking distance from FASuC.
However, we feel that the three year lease term limit is rather short.For a foreign company in Japan, the first and second year are a time of struggle, and the third year is when the prospects for business finally brighten.

Q: What are the merits of doing business in Chiba?

The first merit of doing business in Chiba prefecture is that the total business cost is less than that of neighboring areas.
When foreign companies starts business in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, they will compare the business costs among Chiba, Tokyo and Yokohama that Chiba is much less expensive.
Second, Chiba Prefecture has Narita International Airport, which provides excellent access from abroad.
Third, support systems for companies are excellent. The support by Advisors which comes from the clients’ perspective is particularly reassuring.

Q What is the future business plan of your company?

In order for Japanese companies to compete in the global market, they must develop human resources who can move and actively participate in the global market.

In order to realize this, early 2010, ASJ and their partner company in Japan have started 1 month training courses in the Philippines for groups 10 to 15 new employees from Japanese IT companies.Trainees stay in dormitories at prestigious universities where they have training conducted in English and learn communication and IT skills.
An important thing is to relate the training to the practical business. Therefore, we plan to have them start collaborative work with the Philippines after they return to Japan.
The program is not simply subcontract works overseas, but gaining experience in how to best cooperate with Philippine Engineers. This experience, as well as the connections they develop, will be a great asset for the future.

The Philippines is second only to India in the Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) market, and are expanding rapidly. We will continue to support the globalization of Japanese companies through the use of our Southeast Asia network.

Q: Do you have any messages for foreign companies who are planning to establish operations in Japan?

Foreign companies, who are looking only at the Japanese market, may misunderstand Japanese companies. Japanese companies are aiming at global market. In order to prevail in the Japanese market, foreign companies must have a partner in Japan. I think foreign companies need to approach Japanese companies to do business together abroad by utilizing their own country’s networks.

2010-07-08