Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, one of the three biggest banks in Japan, has established an Osaka-Kansai Project Team to support a series of projects in Kansai for the 2025 World Expo and the Osaka IR bid.
The team is comprised of 24 staff members across 17 departments and intends to support business matching in its home region of Kansai by collecting information on relevant technology and products. This will include making introductions to customers to help with business expansion.
The Project Team could, for example, work with their sales department to help tackle the issue of development and access for Yumeshima, which is the location of the World Expo and candidate site for Osaka’s IR. They will also provide business matching such as matching operators with SMBC customers who are likely to be well-suited.
The private-sector burden of site construction costs for the expo has been an issue, so there are high expectations for Kansai’s Sumitomo group.
“No firm decision has been made to date, but we will work with our group companies to fulfil the responsibilities we’ve been assigned,” said Senior Executive Director Keiji Kakumoto.
In addition to the World Expo and an IR bid, Kansai is proceeding with several large-scale projects including an “international base of future medicine” to study cutting-edge medical strategies at Osaka’s Nakanoshima, as well as the second development phase of Umekita adjacent to Osaka Station.
