Quarterly Survey of Overseas Subsidiaries

4. Trade Transactions

(1) Exports and imports

• Exports by head office companies totalled 9,305.9 billion yen, increasing by 15.8% from the same quarter of the previous year. This made up for the decrease in the domestic sales turnover. There were increases in 12 sectors, excluding textiles.
• Imports totalled 2,351.5 billion yen, an increase of 7.5% from the same quarter in the previous year. There were increases in 10 sectors, including transportation machinery.
• Prospects for the first quarter of 1998 show a decrease of 0.8 points for exports (down 10.8 points from the previous quarter) and 0.5 points for imports (down 10.2 points) in the proportion of head offices that forecast an increase. There were decreases in 9 export sectors including electrical machinery and 11 import sectors including transportation machinery.

(2) Inter-company trade transactions between parent companies and their overseas subsidiaries

• The total turnover of exports destined for overseas local corporations owned by head office companies was 4,067.6 billion yen, increasing 20.5% from the same quarter of the previous year. The proportion of all exports by head office companies was 43.7%, up 1.7 points from the same quarter of the previous year.
• The total turnover of imports from overseas local corporations was 889.1 billion yen, increasing 32.3% from the same quarter of the previous year. This greatly exceeded the increase in imports by head office companies (7.5%).
  
  Imports from overseas local corporations accounted for 37.8% of all imports by head office companies, up 7.1 points from the same quarter of the previous year.
• The balance of imports and exports with overseas local corporations showed an export surplus of 3,178.4 billion yen, increasing 17.6% from the same quarter of the previous year. By sector, the surplus was greatest in electrical and transportation machinery, these two accounting for 89.5% of the total export surplus.