Actual fiscal 2001 capital outlays by Japanese firms are expected to shrink due to the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States despite corporate plans that would have resulted in a second year of increase, Industrial Bank of Japan said.
The bank's survey of about 1,900 firms in late September found that capital expenditures they planned for the current fiscal year exceed those of the previous year by 0.4 percent, compared with a 6.9 percent growth rate in fiscal 2000.
An IBJ official said that because the survey does not fully reflect the effects of the terror attacks, actual spending on plants and equipment is likely to decrease some 4 percent from the preceding year.
The survey found that capital outlays set aside by manufacturers represent an increase of 7 percent in comparison with a 2.2 percent decrease planned by nonmanufacturers.
Among manufacturers, oil refiners will boost spending by 78.1 percent to promote integration of facilities. Chemical firms and automakers are also eyeing sharp plant and equipment investment rises.
In contrast, the amount of spending planned in the electric machinery sector is 28.5 percent smaller than in the previous year, reflecting the slump in the information technology sector.
Telecommunications firms have put the brakes on capital spending growth, planning a 2.5 percent cut due largely to slowed investment in the fixed-line phone business.
Construction firms plan to cut spending by 26.8 percent and large retailers by 10.9 percent.