Font:

• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009

Ninth Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs

(July 19-20, 2012, in Philippines)

The "Ninth Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs," hosted by Planters Development Bank was held in Manila, Philippines. The purpose of the whole meeting is to promote mutual cooperation among financial institutions aiming at supporting SMEs in the APEC region. JFC delegation (JFC-Micro and SME Unit), led by Mr. Shuichi Wada, Managing Executive Officer, attended this meeting.

In the meeting, member institutions reported the past mutual cooperation activities and future plans. We also discussed this year's theme "SME Banking in a Changing Landscape." During the session, the role and function of JFC as a policy-based financial institution was highlighted. Moreover, JFC's cooperation activities such as the conclusion of MOU with VietinBank in order to better serve our customers which aims to expand their business overseas drew member's interests.

[Project for Lao Development Bank (LDB)] 1st Seminar in Laos

(November 29 - December 10, 2011, in Laos)

The Project for Lao Development Bank (LDB) is a two-year ODA project that is carried out by Policy Research Institute (PRI), Ministry of Finance, Japan. JFC-Micro has taken part in this project since the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in June 2011.

This time, JFC-Micro and PRI conducted the 1st Seminar in Laos which was held at three cities (Luang Prabang, Pakse, and Vientiane). JFC-Micro gave lectures regarding credit analysis methods, and exchanged information with totally 93 participants such as branch manager, head of service unit and division chief of Loan Division, etc.

The second seminar is scheduled on next June in Japan.

[Technical Cooperation for VBSP] Final Evaluation of Technical Cooperation (Phase 3) for VBSP

(October 19-21, 2011, in Vietnam)

As an ODA project of Policy Research Institute(PRI), Ministry of Finance(MOF), JAPAN, JFC-Micro has carried out a technical cooperation (phase 3) for Vietnam Bank for Social Policies(VBSP) since November, 2009. This phase 3 project was designed to establish a three-day training course on credit analysis in VBSP.

This time, JFC-Micro and PRI visited Hanoi and conducted a survey on an achievement of this project. By observing training course and conducting an interview with executives of VBSP, JFC-Micro and PRI confirmed that VBSP accomplished the goal of this project. An achievement of this project will be concluded with the ex-post evaluation report by PRI.

Eighth Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs

(July 21-22, 2011, in Mexico)

The "Eighth Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs," hosted by Nacional Financiera, S.N.C. was held in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. It was a two-day meeting composed of "Annual Meeting" and "Conference." The purpose of the whole meeting is to promote mutual cooperation among financial institutions aiming at supporting SMEs in the APEC region. JFC delegation (SME Unit and JFC-Micro), led by Mr. Toshihiro Kodama, Managing Executive Officer, attended this meeting.

In the "Annual Meeting," member institutions reported the past mutual cooperation activities and future plans. We also discussed this year's theme "Challenges and Current Trends in Financial Programs for SME's". During the session, JFC's cooperation activities were highlighted, while the roles and functions of JFC as a policy-based financial institution draw member's interests. At the beginning of the "Conference" in second day, Mr. Kodama made a presentation of "JFC's Roles in Recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake."

The audience showed deep interest in JFC's financial supporting schemes as a safety-net for SMEs which were affected by the disaster.

[Project for SME Bank, Malaysia] Final Evaluation on Technical Cooperation

(June 20-22, 2011, in Malaysia)

JFC-Micro has taken part in ODA project of Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Ministry of Finance, Japan, aiming at improvement of credit analysis methods in SME Bank, Malaysia.

This time, following the project close-out, JFC-Micro and PRI visited headquarters of SME Bank (in Kuala Lumpur) to conduct the final evaluation. JFC-Micro and PRI confirmed that the project has a favorable impact on the bank's operation, by introducing some measures to improve its credit analysis methods based on the know-how of JFC-Micro. An achievement of the project will be finalized in the ex-post evaluation report.

[Project for Lao Development Bank] Signing the MOU on Technical Cooperation for LDB

(June 15-16, 2011, in Laos)

In response to the request of Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Ministry of Finance, Japan, JFC-Micro takes part in the technical cooperation project for Lao Development Bank (LDB). This time, PRI, JFC-Micro, LDB and Ministry of Finance, the Lao PDR signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to launch the project at the ceremony held in Vientiane. Through the project, JFC-Micro will provide know-how to develop LDB's human resources and to improve credit operations. The 1st seminar will be held in November 2011, in Laos.

Visit to VietinBank

(June 14, 2011, in Vietnam)

Mr. Morita, Chief of ICO, visited Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) Headquarters in Hanoi and had a meeting with Mr.Tuan, vice general director. JFC-Micro and VietinBank are in the process of establishing a solid cooperation framework for information exchange in order to support customers expanding their business in Vietnam/Japan.

PRI "Preliminary Survey on Technical Cooperation for Lao Development Bank"

(March 9-18, 2011, in Laos)

In response to a request from Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Ministry of Finance, Japan, JFC-Micro and PRI conducted the joint preliminary survey in order to verify feasibility of technical cooperation for Lao Development Bank (LDB).

During the stay in Laos, JFC-Micro made a presentation about an outline of JFC-Micro and JFC-Micro's international cooperation activities. In addition, JFC-Micro and PRI visited head office and branch offices of LDB.

LDB showed a strong interest in JFC-Micro's expertise in SME finance and practical achievements of international cooperation activities.

As a result, both parties agreed to continuously discuss putting this project in execution.

JICA "Training Program on Credit Analysis for MSEs"

(January 25 - February 4, 2011, in Indonesia)

JFC-Micro dispatched two lecturers for the above seminar by responding to JICA's requests. The seminar is a part of the long-term project, "Capacity Development for Supporting Industry Development: Credit Guarantee System," which is conducted by JICA and Bank Indonesia (BI). JFC-Micro also conducted following the previous lecture in Tokyo in Nov. 11, 2010.

The seminar was held in Surabaya and Padang for couple of days each. As from a point of view of capacity development in credit analysis, JFC-Micro explained "key points to analyze micro and small enterprises as well as business start-ups" through lectures and case studies. More than 75 participants from BI, local governments, and regional development banks, etc., showed high interest on the methods in JFC-Micro, and commented that some of them could be useful in the country even though their customs or legal systems are differ from those of Japan's.

IIST "SME Finance Seminars"

(January 17-21, 2011, in Vietnam, Cambodia)

JFC-Micro conducted lectures on the theme of "Roles of Policy-based Finance with SME Financing in Japan" at the above seminars hosted by Institute for International Studies and Training (IIST). These seminars were held in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Phnom Penh. Many participants including government officials, officers of Chamber of Commerce and Industry and managers of SMEs showed much interest on the JFC-Micro's indispensable role in terms of backing up SMEs development. They also seemed to recognize that JFC-Micro's expertise of SME finance, especially credit analysis know-how for SMEs was noteworthy and highly evaluated the lectures.

[Technical Cooperation for SME Bank, Malaysia] Meeting with Representatives of SME Bank, Malaysia

(December 15-17, 2010, in Malaysia)

JFC-Micro and Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Ministry of Finance (MOF), Japan visited the bank's Head Quarter (in Kuala Lumpur) and Branch (in Melaka) to discuss the progress of the project which started from Dec. 2008.

During the discussions, SME Bank reported their achievement of improving credit analysis procedure including introduction of new credit analysis format, which is newly produced based on JFC-Micro's analysis method specialized for MSEs. In addition, through the discussion with the staff in the branch, JFC-Micro and PRI found that they had good impression on the new format. Finally, JFC-Micro, PRI and SME Bank agreed to proceed with the preparations for the Final Report.

ADFIAP "International CEO Forum VII"

(November 18, 2010, in Cambodia)

Two members from JFC-Micro ICO, attended the International CEO Forum held on November 18th at Siem Reap, Cambodia. About 100 CEOs and senior executives from the development finance institutions in the Asia-Pacific region got together at this forum.

During the SME finance session, Mr. Morita, Chief of ICO made a presentation regarding "Managerial Improvement Loan." This opportunity was precious for us to introduce our distinctive financial support methods and also exchange information about SME support measures and policies implemented in the each country.

Meeting with Mr. Yuthasak, Director General, Office of SME Promotion (OSMEP), Thailand

(November, 17, 2010)

JFC-Micro ICO visited the head office of OSMEP in Bangkok and had a meeting with Mr. Yuthasak. OSMEP is one of the SME policy implementing institutions in Thailand. It is currently working to establish a new scheme for supporting SME in Thailand by reference to Japanese SME Shindan-shi program and JFC-Micro's "Managerial Improvement Loans." As Mr. Yuthasak visited Japan twice in last year and had meetings with JFC-Micro, both sides agreed on further strengthening of the mutual cooperation.

[Technical Cooperation for VBSP] Interim Evaluation of Technical Cooperation Project(Phase 3) for the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies

(October 26-28, 2010, in Vietnam)

JFC-Micro and Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Ministry of Finance, Japan, conducted interim evaluation of technical cooperation project (phase 3) for VBSP. The phase 3 project started last year, and was designed to establish a "3 or 4-day training course" on credit analysis methods for small enterprises in VBSP. JFC-Micro observed the lecture conducted by Training Center staff of VBSP for newly recruited employees. After the lecture, JFC-Micro carried out questionnaires and interview with VBSP staff on the lecture to improve it. In addition, JFC-Micro, PRI and VBSP executives discussed the schedule and the procedure for the achievement of this project.

Meeting with Institutions Concerned in Vietnam

(October 5-9, 2010, in Vietnam)

Mr. Morita, Chief of International Cooperation Office, had meetings with Vietnamese and Japanese institutions in Hanoi to discuss future technical cooperation by JFC-Micro. He visited VietinBank, Enterprise Development Authority, VBSP, JICA Hanoi Office and JICA project office in Vietnam Development Bank. As the economic relationship between Vietnam and Japan has been more and more tighten, opportunities for international cooperation by JFC-Micro are expected to increase.

Seventh Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs

(July 15-16, 2010, in Malaysia)

The "Seventh Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs," hosted by the Association of Banks Malaysia, was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was a two-day meeting and consisted of "Annual Meeting" and "Conference." The purpose of the whole meeting is to promote mutual cooperation among financial institutions aiming at supporting SMEs in the APEC region. JFC delegation (SME Unit and JFC-Micro), led by Mr. Yasushi Yamazaki, Managing Executive Officer, attended the meeting.

In the "Annual Meeting," member institutions reported the past mutual cooperation activities and discussed this year's theme "SME development and Financing at the Threshold of the Next Decade -Review, Re-strategize, Revamp." During the session, JFC's cooperation activities were highlighted, while the roles and functions of JFC as a policy-based financial institution draw member's interests. In the "Conference," experts from SMEs support organizations made presentations on the above theme. Through the whole meeting, member institutions actively exchanged and shared ideas on SME development for the future.

Seminar for VietinBank

(May 18-19, 2010, in Vietnam)

VietinBank (Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade) asked JFC-Micro to hold a seminar about SME Finance for their staff. Both organizations belong to "APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs"* and this seminar would be one of the cooperation projects among its members.

In the 2-day seminar, JFC-Micro explained, partly with a case study, the situation of SME Finance in Japan and the credit analysis in JFC-Micro. Seminar participants, who are in charge of SME Finance in the head office and branches, evaluated the seminar and commented that JFC-Micro's methods are useful in Vietnam. After the seminar, JFC-Micro staff visited VietinBank's 2 branches and learned their actual operations from the branch managers.

The seminar was very fruitful from the viewpoint of mutual understanding and cooperation between the above members.

* This alliance was organized in order to promote support for SMEs in the APEC region.

[Technical Cooperation for VBSP] The second seminar of Technical Cooperation (Phase III) to Vietnam Bank for Social Policies(VBSP)

(March 9-12, 2010, in Vietnam)

JFC-Micro held a second seminar of technical cooperation for VBSP in Hanoi. The technical cooperation with Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Ministry of Finance (MOF), Japan for VBSP went into 8th year. The first goal of the Phase III is for VBSP staff in its Training Center (TC) to conduct a lecture on credit analysis in the next training course for newly recruited employees. In the seminar, TC staff had rehearsals of the lecture and JFC-Micro gave feedback to them. In addition, JFC-Micro explained how to make better lecture materials, etc.

JICA "Seminar on Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Finance in Sri Lanka"

(February 22-26, 2010, in Sri Lanka)

Mr. Morita, Chief and Mr. Hirata, Deputy Chief of ICO visited Colombo to conduct a 2-day seminar, based on the request from JICA, which has been supporting the promotion of SME finance in Sri Lanka. They explained the role of policy-based financial institutions in Japan and JFC-Micro's actual operations to the staff of local banks and government institutions, as well as visited some of the local banks. The seminar, which included case studies, was highly evaluated by the participants and it was reported in two Sri Lankan national newspapers.

Seminar, "Japan-Vietnam's Cooperation for Supporting Industry and New SME Development"

(January 20-22, 2010, in Vietnam)

Mr. Morita, Chief of ICO, attended the above seminar held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as one of the Japanese Presenters. This seminar was organized by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Japan Economic Research Institute (JERI) as a part of Japan-Vietnam economic partnership project. Mr. Morita made a presentation on theme of "SME Finance for SME Policy Implementation in Japan" in the SME finance session. Vietnamese participants from both government and private sides expressed considerable interest in the role of policy-based finance for small businesses in Japan, and active discussion was held among them.

Meeting with Institutions Concerned in the Philippines

(December 3-4, 2009, in the Philippines)

Mr. Morita, Chief of ICO, visited Manila to have meetings with some institutions, such as Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association Center for Training and Research in Agricultural Banking(APRACA-CENTRAB), Association of Development Financing Institution in Asia and the Pacific(ADFIAP), Planters Development Bank, and Asian Development Bank(ADB), which are concerned with JFC-Micro's international cooperation activities

Meeting with Atty. Garcia, Managing Director, APRACA-CENTRAB

APRACA-CENTRAB conducts various types of training courses for agricultural financial institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. In the meeting, Atty. Garcia mentioned a plan of training course in Japan on theme of Micro and Small Enterprise Finance. He requested JFC-Micro to be a hosting institution of the course. Both sides agreed to proceed toward the realization of the training in Japan.

Meeting with Octavio B. Peralta(Bobby), Secretary General, ADFIAP

ADFIAP is an association, which has more than 100 member institutions from 40 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Enhancement of SME finance is one of the important issues for the member institutions. Although JFC-Micro is not a member, it has been keeping a close relationship with ADFIAP. Mr. Peralta said, "JFC-Micro's international cooperation activities are so impressive. We are ready to welcome JFC-Micro as a special member to establish a long-term relationship." JFC-Micro will consider this suggestion from here on.

APO "Study Meeting on SME Financing in the Aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis"

(November 23-24, 2009 in Indonesia)

Responding to the invitation to the above study meeting held by Asian Productivity Organization (APO) and the Indonesian government, Mr. Hirata, Deputy Chief of International Cooperation Office, made a keynote presentation. He explained the role of JFC-Micro as well as its action against the current financial crisis. Participants, who were mainly government officials and professors from 12 Asian countries, highly evaluated the explanation by saying that it contained a lot of useful information in designing financial support measures for SMEs in their countries. The purpose of the meeting is to exchange information on SME finance in each country and to discuss ways for strengthening its function.

[Technical Cooperation for VBSP] The first Seminar of Technical Cooperation (PhaseIII) to Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP)

(November 4-6, 2009, in Vietnam)

JFC-Micro signed the Record of Discussion about new technical cooperation for VBSP and held the first Seminar. JFC-Micro has been conducting technical cooperation for VBSP since 2003 as an ODA project of Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Ministry of Finance (MOF), Japan, and this is the PhaseIII. In this phase, VBSP is supposed to establish an independent training course on credit analysis. During the first seminar, JFC-micro gave lectures on credit analysis and discussed approaches for the project goal with VBSP.

JICA "Project for Institutional Capacity Development for Infrastructure Finance in Vietnam"

(September 7-11, 2009 in Vietnam)

In response to the request from JICA and Japan Economic Research Institute Inc., which conduct the project for the Vietnam Development Bank(VDB), JFC-Micro dispatched Mr. Hirata, Deputy Chief of International Cooperation Office, to Vietnam. VDB is one of the government-affiliated financial institutions in Vietnam and deals with mid-to-long term financing to policy-based projects and SMEs. This 3-year project aims at strengthening VDB's capacity in terms of 1)Governance, 2)Credit Risk Management, 3)Fund Mobilization and Asset and Liability Management and 4)Human Resource Development.

This time, as part of the project, seminar was held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (meanwhile, VDB's study group visited JFC-Micro last March.). Mr. Hirata made a presentation on JFC-Micro's Credit Analysis and Credit Risk Management in both cities. Because JFC-Micro and VDB have a lot in common as government-affiliated institutions, participants actively listened to the presentation.

[Technical Cooperation for SME Bank, Malaysia] Meeting with Representatives of SME Bank, Malaysia

(August 31- September 3, 2009 in Malaysia)

JFC-Micro has been conducting technical cooperation to SME Bank, Malaysia for the improvement of their credit analysis, as an ODA project of Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Ministry of Finance (MOF), Japan. This time, representatives of JFC-Micro and PRI visited SME Bank in Kuala Lumpur to exchange the information on current situations of both sides and review the further plan of this project. As a result, both sides reached an agreement on the revised plan and a seminar held in Japan next January.

In addition, JFC-Micro explained the outline of credit analysis method for business start-ups as a preliminary lecture for the next seminar. Participants deepened their understanding of JFC-Micro's operations, and were looking forward to the next seminar, which will include field trip to branch offices.

Sixth Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs

(July 8-9, 2009 in Korea)

The "Sixth Annual Meeting of APEC Financial Institutions Dealing with SMEs" was held in Seoul, Korea. The purpose of this meeting is to promote mutual cooperation among financial institutions aiming at supporting SMEs in the APEC region. Until last year, both National Life Finance Corporation (present JFC-Micro Unit) and Japan Finance Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprise (present SME Unit) had attended the meeting. This year, for the first time after the establishment of JFC, both units led by Mr. Masaki Sakamoto, Managing Executive Officer jointly participated in the meeting.

At the Annual Meeting on the first day, the member institutions reported their cooperation with other members during the past year and support measures for SMEs that severely damaged by the financial crisis. At the Conference on the second day, Mr. Morita, Chief, International Cooperation Office of JFC-Micro and others made presentations under the theme of "SME Development and Financing in an Age of Global Economic Crisis." During the two days, participants showed high interest in support measures for SMEs under the crisis, and lively exchanged their views.

Meetings with Institutions Concerned in Vietnam

(February 19-20, 2009 in Vietnam)

Mr. Masaki Sakamoto, Managing Executive Officer, and Mr. Morita, Chief of ICO, visited Hanoi and had meetings with some Vietnamese financial institutions. The visited institutions are the followings: Vietnam Development Bank that is one of the policy-based financial institutions, Vietnam Bank for Social Policies that JFC-Micro has provided technical cooperation, and Vietnam Industrial Bank that is one of the major commercial banks for SMEs. The mission delivered information on JFC-Micro's operations and discussed mutual cooperation in the future. The mission also had meetings with the JICA expert and JBIC Hanoi Representative Office to get information on current economic and financial status in Vietnam.

[Technical Cooperation for VBSP] Feasibility Study of Next Technical Cooperation Project for Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP)

(February 17-20, 2009 in Vietnam)

As an ODA project of Policy Research Institute (PRI), Ministry of Finance (MOF), Japan, JFC-Micro has implemented technical cooperation for VBSP. This time, JFC-Micro dispatched a mission with PRI in order to investigate the possibility of the next technical cooperation project. The mission team conducted hearings and discussions with executives and staff of VBSP, as well as visits to VBSP's training center, which was established a few years ago, and nearby Hanoi Branch. Based on the results of the study, JFC-Micro will consider the feasibility of the next project with PRI.

• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009