There is an interesting recap by the Japan Times (it may not be available online for much longer) of an economics symposium last weekend in Tokyo.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, international business editor of The Daily Telegraph, notes “Globalization has been very kind to Britain,” but explains how there was once fear Britain’s assets would all be taken over by foreigners and nothing would remain as Thatcher brought an “era of Schumpeterian creative destruction.” The best example is Switzerland’s UBS takeover of Warburg. Interestingly enough, UBS now runs its global operations out of Liverpool Street in London, says Evans-Pritchard. It may be the case Switzerland was the one to lose out, while England benefits most from the takeover.

“The City of London is in effect almost wholly controlled by foreigners. There is very little left that’s owned by the British, and it doesn’t matter at all. The place is thriving.”

The message here is Japan needs to do a whole lot more to embrace inward FDI and capital flows in the form of equity investments and M&A. There has been a lot of discussion about improving the attractiveness and competitiveness of Tokyo as a global financial center. This won’t happen without more openness and less fear of losing control.

Lastly, Evans-Pritchard made the following important observation: “There is something wrong here when everybody seems to see trend growth of 1.5 percent as the best you can achieve.”