Strong yen spurs Japanese firms' overseas ambitions

The US dollar dipped to a historical low against the Japanese yen on October 31, with one dollar equivalent to 75.35 on October 31, before the Bank of Japan intervened and pushed the exchange rate back above 78. Even so, the yen is down almost 4% against the dollar for the year to date, while the euro is flat.

The firmer yen has been robbing Japanese exporters of overseas earnings, but it also works to boost the relative value of the war chest at medium-size companies looking to buy offshore companies with US dollars or euro. For the purposes of overseas MA, these medium-size companies may be broadly defined...