Japanese energy firms look overseas for growth

Major energy companies are expanding their overseas business as they seek to reduce their heavy reliance on the domestic market amid shrinking energy demand in Japan. JX Holdings Inc., created by a merger between Nippon Oil Corp. and Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., plans to start distributed power generation operations in the Middle East and other emerging markets. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is focusing on the nuclear power business overseas. It is striving to get orders to build nuclear plants in emerging markets, while investing in a power project in the United States. TEPCO is also mulling exports of so-called smart grid technology and it plans to strengthen its uranium and coal development business, as the battle with rising economic powers to secure natural resources heats up. (May 11, 2010)