Japanese firms in China see shares fall as protests continue

Published:  18 Sep at 9 AM

Protests in China sparked by Japan’s decision to buy a group of Islands China claims it already owns has seen share prices of Japanese companies operating in China fall on the Nikkei in Tokyo. Japanese firms have taken the decision to suspend operations at factories in China as many fear the protests could get worse.

Nissan Motors has confirmed that it has closed down two of its sites in China and will continue to keep a close eye on the situation. Panasonic has shit down operations at a plant in Qingdao and Canon said three of its sites had been closed.

Although it is still to confirm which of its factories have been shut, Toyota said the troubles had caused the firm to suspend some of its production. Aeon, the Japanese supermarket chain said it had already closed 30 stores in China.

The disruption has seen shares in Honda Motors drop by 1.4 per cent, Nissan shares have lost 2.5 per cent of their value and Fast Retailing is down 4.9 per cent. Many large Japanese firms have set up operations in China because of the low cost of manufacturing. If the protests continue, then companies may have to suspend operations for some time and put on hold any expansion plans.

Analysts have warned that the current anti-Japanese sentiment could dent sales of Japanese products which would be a further blow to the bottom line.