The past year was one of mixed developments in the world economy. In the United States, the employment picture continued to improve, and consumer spending expanded steadily. Economic recovery gained momentum in Europe, but geopolitical issues cast a cloud over the economic outlook.

East-west tensions heightened on the Continent on account of the inward flood of refugees from Syria and from other nations in the Middle East and North Africa. And the acts of indiscriminate terror in Beirut, in Paris, in Bamako (Mali), and in Nigerian cities focused attention on the threat posed by terrorists and on the danger of terrorists infiltrating the refugee influx. Russia's economic standing became increasingly precarious, meanwhile, as the nation's continuing military intervention in Ukraine and its new intervention in Syria aggravated relations with the United States and with European nations.

In Asia, economic growth slowed in China as the government's 'new normal' reforms drove down real estate prices and reined in runaway investment. And China's slowing growth reverberated globally. Most notably, the Middle Kingdom's slowing consumption of raw materials adversely affected emerging economies dependent on exports of natural resources.

The Modi government's economic policies yielded promising results in India. Investment expanded, led by spending on public works, and a loosening of monetary policy stimulated private-sector consumption, highlighted by growth in vehicle purchases.

Japan's economic performance was ambivalent. Consumer spending remained weak, and the eagerly anticipated recovery in exports failed to materialize convincingly.

Let me cite some highlights in reference to our TRY-1 domains of Mobility, Life and Community, and Earth and Resources. All of these undertakings that I cite here are promising opportunities for broadening our horizons and for generating synergies with partners and among our business domains.

Our activity in the Mobility domain in the past year included important progress on several fronts. We moved ahead with work on a lithium development project in Argentina supplying lithium for batteries in next-generation automobiles. We also moved ahead with building a network of hydrogen stations in Japan to serve fuel cell vehicles. And we strengthened our presence in new materials and new technologies for automobiles. In addition, we established a Mexican subsidiary to do cutting work on automotive steel pipe, set up a joint venture with a Japanese partner in Malaysia to do surface-processing work on aircraft components, and moved in other ways to fortify our global production network in the automotive sector.

In the Life and Community domain, our activity in the past year included acquiring the Brazilian grain distributor NovaAgri Infra-Estrutura de Armazenagem e Escoamento Agrícola S.A. That has strengthened our up-stream presence in the grain market, positioning us to secure reliable access to cost-competitive supplies. A joint venture between our strategic partner CFAO S.A. and the global retailer Carrefour S.A. opened the first in a planned African network of shopping centers. The inaugural outlet is in Côte d'Ivoire.

We were also active in the Life and Community domain in Japan. That included concluding an agreement with Prince Hotels, Inc., to build and operate a hotel and conference center in the Global Gate commercial development in Nagoya's Sasashima Live 24 district.

In a cross-domain initiative, four TTC Group companies have established a framework for upgrading our purchasing and marketing capabilities in electronic components. Demand for electronic components continues to expand world, and we are working to position ourselves as a global player in that sector.

Our work in the past year in the Earth and Resources domain focused on traditional priorities. We continued to expand our business in developing renewable energies, and we pressed ahead with business in supplying electric power, mainly in North America.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation issued this content on 2016-01-05 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-05 04:15:11 UTC

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