Quarterly Survey of Overseas Subsidiaries

2. Equipment Investments

• The total value of equipment investments (the acquisition value of tangible fixed assets other than land; the same applies below) by head office companies was 1,501.4 billion yen, increasing 2.8% from the same quarter of the previous year. In terms of individual sectors, there were increases in 8 sectors including electrical machinery. But investments have decreased greatly (14.7%) compared to the previous quarter.
  
  Meanwhile, direct overseas equipment investments totalled 262.4 billion yen, decreasing greatly from the same quarter of the previous year (down by 38.4%). There were decreases in 6 sectors, including transportation machinery and electrical machinery.
  
  Equipment investments by overseas local corporations totalled 430.5 billion yen (3.4 billion US dollars), increasing greatly (up by 32.4%). By region, North America increased greatly while all Asian countries decreased. By sector, there were increases in 6 sectors, including transportation machinery.
• The overseas equipment investment ratio (*4) was 28.7%, increasing by 6.4 points from the same quarter of the previous year.
• In terms of forecasts by head office companies for the first quarter of 1998, the value of equipment investments has increased by 4.0 points (decreasing by 2.2 points from the previous quarter). The proportion of head office companies that forecast an increase has decreased in 5 sectors.
  
  The value of direct overseas investments fell by 2.9 points (decreasing by 3.4 points from the previous quarter). The proportion of head office companies that forecast an increase has decreased in 9 sectors.
  
  Viewing the equipment investments of local corporations, similarly, there has been an increase of 15.4 points in the total for all regions (a decrease of 1.7 points from the previous quarter). The proportion of local corporations that forecast an increase has decreased in 10 sectors. In terms of different regions, the proportion of local corporations that forecast an increase decreased in all regions except Europe and the NIES 3 countries.