Looking at the global economy this year, while some countries and regions will continue to face challenging conditions, countries expected to realize steady growth include the United States among advanced nations, and India and ASEAN countries among emerging nations. Overall, the outlook for the global economy points to a gradual transition toward stable growth. Accordingly, Canon is positioning itself to ride this wave as a means of returning to a path of growth and we are carrying out various measures to realize a successful final year to Phase IV (2011-2015) of our Excellent Global Corporation Plan.
First, we are focusing on reinforcing our existing businesses through the launch of innovative new products and services. Also, in addition to pursuing technologies aimed at paving the way for the future, we are working to steadily cultivate and expand new businesses with a focus on the B-to-B sector, from network cameras, mixed reality systems and 3-D machine vision systems, to nanoimprint technology for use in next-generation semiconductor lithography systems and healthcare-related businesses. We are also making progress toward the establishment of our Three Regional Headquarters management system, taking initial steps in Europe with commercial printing and network cameras, and in the Americas with medical equipment.
At the same time, we are striving to strengthen our sales and marketing capabilities through the development of diverse sales channels, the deployment of global services, and the expansion of sales networks in emerging countries. Also, aiming to realize a globally optimized production system, we are robustly promoting greater automation and in-house production to boost production in Japan, as well as the localized production of consumables through automated production systems in Europe and the Americas. Furthermore, we are focusing energies on rigorous quality control, environmental considerations, enhanced information security, the development of human resources and our corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Looking back over the preceding four years of Phase IV, there have been a number of unforeseen events that resulted in a constantly changing management environment, including the Great East Japan Earthquake, the sharp appreciation of the yen, and Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. At Canon, however, we believe such conditions provide us with a great opportunity to rapidly achieve transformation ahead of the changing times, enabling us to realize sound business growth as we aim to return to a path of solid growth. We are making a company-wide effort to enhance our business performance to realize a successful conclusion to Phase IV while building a rock-solid foundation targeting future growth and development.