Program

• What are the key drivers and barriers impacting transaction pace and scale in Japan?
• How is the global credit crisis affecting the buyout market?
• How are foreign funds affecting the private equity landscape?
• How are changing attitudes of shareholders, management, regulators and vendors affecting the PE market?
• Are there unique factors in Japan that make buyouts more challenging than other markets?

• Whether building Kieretsu of their own is likely to be effective and acceptable to their international investors.
• How they can persuade Japanese conglomerates to hive off non-core assets.
• Whether there's a role for them in the integration process of large mergers—which have historically not been successful in Japan.
• How they can avoid competing in auctions for the same assets, thereby making exits at reasonable multiples harder to achieve in a manner acceptable to Japanese society.

Many new technologies are developed within large corporations in Japan, meaning that spin outs from major corporations are more common than greenfield developments. The pace of change and the amount of competition internationally mean that biotech and pharma research isn't top priority in corporate Japan, but "The ‘76 Generation"—30-something engineers—are at the forefront of developing new Web 2.0 technologies, and niche hardware products are still being developed. At the same time, much of the focus of Japan’s VC fund managers remains in the early-stage growth sector, where proven technologies and business plans can be scaled up rapidly to create big exit multiples for successful teams. This panel of experts considers:

• What are Japan's core technology strengths?

• How can corporate Japan protect itself from competition from India, China and elsewhere?

• Which sectors are attracting early-stage growth investment?

• How crucial are these young but growing companies to reinvigorating Japan's corporate   

  landscape, and what is the optimal ownership structure within which to achieve this?

• What types of products lend themselves to overseas production, and which are worth protecting from technology transfer?
• Which countries in the Asia-Pacific region offer a good fit to Japan companies, and what are the parameters involved?
• Whether manufacturing is the only sector ripe for expansion overseas.
• How can private equity assist Japanese corporations with their overseas aspirations?
• Is now a good time for Japanese companies to be looking to expand their footprint in the US?

• Is shrinking demand an unavoidable consequence of an ageing population and low birth rate?

• What effect, if any, will Meti’s revised TOB guidelines have on acquirers of listed companies?

• What are the pricing pressures at this smaller end of the market?

• Given the resolutely slow pace of economic growth in Japan, how many of each of these transactions are likely to involve a significant degree of restructuring, and why is it still necessary in modern Japan?

• What impact did the new Financial Product Transaction Law have on the real estate market in Japan?
• What are the prospects for the Japanese real estate market given the ongoing subprime mortgage problems?
• Has the non-recourse loan market changed? In what terms?
• What will be the next evolution of the J-REIT market?
• Given the recent drop in real estate companies' stock prices, is it time to buy?

• Will the Steel Partners judgment affect international LPs' views of Japan as an investment destination?
• Is there a funding overhang, and is it likely to affect acquisition prices and thence exit multiples going forward?
• Is there room for intermediaries to act as the nexus between the many corporate pension funds and PE fund managers?
• How can managers and investors work together to limit the impact of the new tax rules on distributions?