SINGAPORE, Feb 17 — Japanese companies are returning to Singapore at the levels before the global financial crisis, as confidence grows in the world’s third-largest economy and businesses look to tap growth opportunities in Southeast Asia.

According to the Japanese Embassy in Singapore, businesses are gradually returning as the region recovers from the crisis and as the strengthening yen adds to their potential investment ambitions.

Primarily, though, it is the growing economies of South-east Asia which are a major draw that many companies cannot ignore, said Shinichi Onishi, Counsellor at the Japanese Embassy.

“Many Japanese companies like to have their headquarters in Singapore, so they can cover the South-east Asian region. There are many big markets around Singapore, such as Indonesia, and the country is a convenient base with very good access to the region,” said Onishi.

Figures provided by the embassy show that 760 Japanese companies had operations here last year, up from 729 in 2007 and 719 in 2008, when the global financial crisis was starting to cause chaos and many foreign companies were forced to pull back from the region.

At the same time, the number of Japanese citizens based here is on the increase: Last year, more than 31,000 Japanese citizens were living in Singapore, up from 25,969 in 2007, according to embassy figures.

This influx has made its impact felt on the Singapore economy.

Figures provided by the Economic Development Board (EDB) show that Japan accounted for S$0.6 billion (RM1.57 billion, 7.2 per cent) in Total Business Expenditure and S$0.7 billion (5.5 per cent) in Fixed Asset Investments last year.

An increasing number of companies in the digital media, games and consumer industries are coming to Singapore, said the EDB.

This has also created a spin-off effect on adjacent industries. The agency said it has seen a corresponding growth in demand for Japanese-specific professional services, such as in legal, advertising and market research. Such companies are now increasingly establishing their presence in Singapore. — Today