New Year's Greetings from the CEO

I would first like to wish all of you the very best as we begin the new year of 2017.

Safety as a Top Priority

Placing safety as a top priority is the uncompromising basic policy of the Company in all its operations. As we start the New Year, I would like us all to take this opportunity to renew our vows to place strong emphasis on safety in our daily lives at our global operating bases in accordance with our policy.

Reflecting on 2016

In fiscal 2016, despite the impact of the appreciation of the yen, overall demand and operations in our works remained sound. As a result, operating income is expected to reach 88 billion yen, significantly exceeding the budget of 70 billion yen set at the beginning of the year. During the three years of our 2014 mid-term business plan, results outperformed the plans every year, and they are also expected to noticeably exceed the fiscal 2016 final target. This resulted from the intensive efforts made by everyone in their workplaces, aspiring to transform our business portfolio and restructure.

The World will Change Dramatically

Last year, events that far exceeded everyone’s expectations took place, including the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU and Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election in the United States. This year, I believe that we will continue to see the effects of these events in the business environment all over the world. Not limited to this, making forecasts about events taking place in the world has become more difficult and complicated. When managing operations at a time like this, it is essential to be constantly aware of matters ahead of time and respond promptly to changes in the business environment.

Aiming to Achieve Sustainable Growth

We established the 2025 Long-Term Business Plan in November 2016, depicting a society that the Mitsui Chemicals Group aims to help build. Accordingly, the Group will aim to contribute to building a better future society in five domains, Mobility, Health Care, Food & Packaging, Basic materials and Next Generation businesses, by taking advantage of the Group’s four strengths: (i) technology developed over the course of a century, (ii) a range of products and services, (iii) the global platform and human resources and (iv) a robust customer base. The Mitsui Chemicals Group exists to broadly contribute to solving various social challenges through business activities. While keeping an eye on financial soundness, aiming for operating income of 200 billion yen and sales of 2 trillion yen, I am determined to take on the challenges of making aggressive new growth investments and streamlining investments by allocating growth investments of 1 trillion yen and research and development expenses of 70 billion yen, doubling the 2016 amounts.
It is also important for the Company to ensure the maintenance of the sound health of all employees as the foundation of its sustainable growth and to enhance productivity, achieving an efficient working style for its employees. We will accelerate the response to work style reform, which is particularly underdeveloped in Japan. Moreover, amid rising cyber security risks worldwide, it will be increasingly necessary to ensure the security of information.

Stepping into a New Phase

We will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. this year. The 2025 Long-Term Business Plan commences in this memorable year. Achieving the targets of the plan will not be easy with many ups and downs. Instead of settling down in a way of thinking that is merely the extension of the existing way of thinking, all officers and employees must reform their mindset. By making the most of the Company’s strength, we need to flexibly capture every business opportunity by adopting aggressive actions and hastening our decision making and execution. As a company from which the world will be able to continue to envision great contributions, with employees in a range of countries around the world sharing visions as One Team, let us aim to become a chemical group with an undisputed global presence.