Japanese housing manufacturers have been strengthening their overseas businesses, tapping into potential growth in China and other Asian countries as demand for new construction declines in the shrinking domestic market.
Property developers such as Panasonic Homes Co. and Daiwa House Industry Co. have been trying to meet a variety of overseas needs, from single homes to condominiums and prefabricated apartments for construction workers.
"We want to improve the severe housing environment for construction laborers in China, which has also become a social issue," Daizo Ito, managing executive officer of Panasonic Corp., said when he visited a construction site in Xi'an in mid-September.