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In April 2007, Sojitz established the IT Business Group to develop information technology-related business as a potential growth field from a mediumto long-term point of view. The group comprises several businesses for which the New Business Development Group had acted as an incubator; these businesses were transferred to the IT Business Group based on Sojitz' strategy for selection and focus of business resources. Naming the group "IT Business" reflects Sojitz' recognition that information technology is a fundamental mainstay of growth in all industries; it is Sojitz' intention to leverage IT's capability to support other businesses to create new opportunities.
For a general trading company that comes into direct contact with a diverse range of businesses both inside and outside Japan, the central role of the information industry to all of them makes it a field that offers potential business opportunities. At the same time, by making the best use of IT, Sojitz can reinforce its capacity to add more value in every business category within the Sojitz Group through its role as a trading company.
As the penetration of broadband Internet and mobile phone services approaches mature-market levels, the information industry is reaching a new turning point. In response, the group has turned its attention to restructuring businesses in existing industries and cultivating new information services rooted in the already maturing broadband and ubiquitous networking-oriented businesses. The group is making business investments focused on these areas to expand earnings. In addition, the group intends to take advantage of Sojitz' assets in terms of new technologies and sources of information including market intelligence overseas to take the lead in creating new international business opportunities from markets that are at a turning point.
In the IT field, Sojitz plans to broaden its scope of operations through deeper collaboration among group companies to build a value chain that can comprehensively meet customers' IT needs, from system development and construction to operation and maintenance. Group company cooperation will be centered on Nissho Electronics, a solutions provider with outstanding technological capabilities and the ability to identify leading-edge IT technology in the U.S. market ahead of others.
The group is introducing advanced IT and new business models into the Japanese market, primarily through its U.S. operating base. A particular field of interest for Sojitz is the IT offshoring market, which is expected to achieve high growth amid the progressive internationalization of information services. IT offshoring refers to the commissioning of IT system development and operation to overseas corporations. Sojitz is leveraging its strengths as a general trading company to become No. 1 in international IT business development, particularly in countries such as India and China as well as Vietnam, where it already has a strong market advantage. To this end, the group is pursuing business alliances including M&As with companies in Japan and overseas.
