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| Nippon Paper Group President Yoshio
Haga |
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China has become the prime target in the Nippon Paper Group's bid to become one of the world's top five pulp and paper production companies. The group is looking to neighboring China after the penetration of its domestic market reached saturation point and the 36th annual consecutive drop in Japanese birthrates indicated a long-term fall in demand.
Signaling his interest in developing business with China, Yoshio Haga, president of Nippon Paper said: "China has become very important to our company in the last five years. We are now sending staff members to China to study the language and learn and understand the cultural differences. We believe that adapting our knowledge in line with the needs of our overseas operations is crucial to doing good business in other countries."
The Nippon Paper Group was founded in March 2001, following the merger of Nippon Paper Industries Co Ltd and Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co Ltd. A subsequent surge in domestic demand for paper products fuelled rapid growth for the Tokyo-headquartered group.
Nippon's move in to China is based on sound business sense.
Japan has a population of around 128 million, each using on average some 250 kg of paper every year. By contrast, China's 1.3billion strong population on ly consumes an average of 50kg per person per yea r - offering a vast untapped market for the paper manufacturer and the company's philosophy of "growth-oriented management".
This philosophy has seen the group adopt the international "Tree Farm Strategy" and invest in cultivating some 200,000 hectares of forested land in Brazil. The group already has similar investments in Australia, Chile and South Africa.
As well as sales offices in Shanghai and Beijing, Nippon Paper also has joint venture projects in Shandong, Zhejiang and Shanghai.
We believe that
adapting our
knowledge in line
with the needs
of our overseas
operations is crucial
to doing good
business in other
countries.
YOSHIO HAGA
President of Nippon Paper Group
www.np-g.com
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