Italy, Spain and Portugal

Abstract

While Italy, Spain and Portugal do not account for a significant share of Japanese investment in Europe, Japanese companies do have a certain presence in the manufacturing industry. The fact that in these countries the volume of manufacturing-related investment almost equals that of non-manufacturing investment is unusual in Europe, where non-manufacturing investment generally prevails. According to the figures for cumulative Japanese investment in the 1990s (on a regulatory filing base, not including reinvestment) the three countries combined accounted for only 4 per cent of total investment in Europe, whereas their share of manufacturing exceeded 7 per cent (Table 8.1). In the case of transportation equipment, the three countries accounted for over 10 per cent of investment in Europe, and Spain alone for slightly over 8 per cent. Spain is host not only to the large Japanese car assembly plant in our study but also to major European and US car manufacturers such as Volkswagen, General Motors, Renault and Ford, and acts as a supply base for cars destined for the EU market.