We will strive to provide global non-banking services aiming to construct a Saison Partner Economic Zone and transform ourselves into a comprehensive life services group.
Today, the world is in a state of rapid change, both geopolitically and in terms of economic uncertainty. The growth rate of the Japanese economy has been the lowest of all the developed economies since the 1990s. Its international reputation has significantly declined. Innovation centered on digital transformation (DX) is necessary for all businesses, merchandise and services. Companies failing to continue to innovate will lose their growth potential and inevitably decline.
In this situation, we have been selected as a DX stock and we are steadily achieving positive results.
In India, globalization is advancing quickly. Kisetsu Saison Finance (India) Pvt. Ltd. achieved growth from nothing just six years after its establishment. We will fully expand this model to Brazil, Mexico and other emerging markets. In February 2025, we will be gathering members from different countries to hold a global summit to enable personnel to interact and sharing their passions.
The Payment Segment and the Finance Segment are both coming onto a growth track through structural reforms and the expansion of the real estate business.
The capital and business alliance with Suruga Bank is expected to be a successful example that will produce synergy and that will enable growth in the future.
We will try to regain the vigor and energy of our early days and act in line with the medium-term management plan.
I hope that individual employees will think freely and act to grow.
This is because I hope that they will be engaged in their work that comes from their curiosity and passion, which cannot be reproduced by generative AI.
Humans instinctively want to know what they do not know. This is curiosity. In addition, there are lots of things to learn from play. Playing, learning and working are so close to one another that they do not need to be distinguished.
We have constantly worked to innovate and achieved growth by destroying traditional frameworks.
We will continue to value our staff and strive to be a company that possesses a system for treating them well and for supporting their asset building.
Together with announcement of our new medium-term management plan in May 2024, we also set a business profit target of 100.0 billion yen in FY2026 and a vision for 2030, which reads, "GLOBAL NEO FINANCE COMPANY – A global comprehensive life services group with finance as our core." We should establish a Saison Partner Economic Zone to transform ourselves into a comprehensive life services group. To stand as a non-bank company with a presence in the areas of payment, finance, real estate and other financial businesses, we will seek synergy with our existing alliance partners as well as with group companies. We will combine these businesses in multiple ways and construct multi-tier collaborative relationships and services to create value tailored to the individual customer. In addition, we will proactively invest in India, Mexico, Brazil and other markets with growth potential to solve global social issues.
Our previous medium-term management plan set a consolidated business profit target of 70.0 billion yen and we reached it one year ahead of schedule. This success is because of the brisk performance in the Payment, Finance, and Global Business Segments, the growth of affiliates and subsidiaries and the efforts of every single employee.
We have constantly innovated and taken on challenges since our early days. Enterprises should always change and continue to grow. If not, they will not thrive and continue to be selected by customers. Still maintaining the spirit of that era, we will continue our digital transformation involving all of our staff members using digital and AI technologies, and we will thus innovate in our business.
We will help achieve social development and resolve issues through our business activities with a view toward a sustainable society that is more convenient and prosperous than today.