● Opening comment by President Nishii:

 

It is nearly a month since we announced our first half financial results, and I will update you a little on the situation since then. The Company is in the middle of a transformation, and I would like to tell you about the progress we have made on three points.

The first point is that the integration of Group-wide strategy on the issues of salt reduction and poor nutrition for the purpose of solving food and health issues has become quite concrete. I think that each affiliate is promoting strategy integration with the concepts that are centered on the global headquarters.    

The second point is that we have pretty much completed taking stock of the current situation in the areas of supply chain management (SCM) and procurement, which we were implementing focused on DX. Although we are still confirming the numerical effects, we are ready to reflect it in the plan for FY2021. At the same time, with regard to sowing seeds from the perspective of growth, in terms of initiatives to create new businesses, I report that while preparations for corporate venture capital are progressing, we have also moved forward with concrete investment in a venture company in the new field of foodtech.

The third point concerns asset reduction. At the briefing for the first half financial results, I told you we had resumed discussions that had been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and developments are now very rapid. We are now at the stage where we should be able to give you some good news soon.