CzechInvest CEO Kučera accompanies the prime minister to Japan

• representatives of CzechInvest are in Japan from 27 to 30 June 2017
• they will meet with existing and potential investors in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kyoto
• to date, CzechInvest has arranged Japanese investments worth nearly CZK 124 billion; more investments are under discussion 

Representatives of CzechInvest, including CEO Karel Kučera are accompanying Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka to Japan. From 27 to 30 June 2017, the delegation will visit a number of major Japanese institutions and take part in talks with ten firms in the electrical engineering, food production, chemical, textile and automotive industries. The programme of the visit includes meetings both with the firms that are already operating in the Czech Republic and with potential new investors.

“We are currently engaging with and attracting to the Czech Republic companies in the area of new trends in the automotive sector, including electromobility and batteries. Thanks to its major lithium reserves and extensive experience in electrical engineering, the Czech Republic has a tremendous advantage that can be used jointly by our firms,” says Karel Kučera, CEO of CzechInvest.

Talks with the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry are also scheduled. Within the official programme of the Czech delegation led by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, Karel Kučera will present the Czech Republic as an ideal destination for foreign investments at business forums in Tokyo and Kyoto organised by CzechInvest in cooperation with the Chamber of the Commerce of the Czech Republic and JETRO.

CzechInvest has had an office in Japan since 1998 in order to be in the closest possible contact with potential investors there (the office was relocated from Yokohama to Tokyo in 2007). “Our strategy is being adapted to new trends. We are focusing primarily on investments in research and development and, of course, in manufacturing with higher value added. High-tech investments are a priority,” says Michal Žižlavský, CzechInvest’s foreign representative in Tokyo.

In the period from 1993 to 2016, CzechInvest arranged 130 Japanese investment projects in the total value of nearly CZK 124 billion, which created more than 28,000 new jobs. A significant investment recently arranged by CzechInvest is Central Glass’s project involving production of electrolytes for electric-vehicle batteries in Pardubice. Besides the current visit, CzechInvest is in ongoing talks with Japanese firms on investments worth tens of billions of crowns.