三井物産社長の安永氏、日本の起業家精神を語る②

多分時間をおくとめんどくさくなって放置するのでとりあえず続けて書いてみます。

For many years, Japan’s trading companies, led by Mitsui and Mitsubishi, have been steadily turning into something between private equity houses and venture capitalists. There have been “significant failures” along the way, admits Mr Yasunaga, and shareholders have demanded investment discipline.

トレードから、ベンチャーキャピタルとPEファンドの間くらいにビジネスモデルを転換させてきたと書いてあります。

But Mr Yasunaga’s mission now is to accelerate the shift away from resources. He is pushing the venture capital and private equity themes, and hoping that Mitsui’s “DNA-rooted” entrepreneurialism(1) will create new business lines to take its investments deeper into consumer markets and absorb new technologies. The trading house model, he says, is well placed to make it happen. And unlike pure private equity groups such as Bain and KKR, he adds, Mitsui is used to taking a very long view.

(1)entrepreneurialism:起業家精神　

PEファンド（BainやKKRは米系の有名なPEファンドです）より長期目線で投資をする、とのこと。

He talks with unusual bluntness(2) for a Japanese CEO of streamlining Mitsui’s headquarters and of introducing artificial intelligence and internet-of-things technology. He has taken, he says with pride, to confronting(3) Mitsui staff — especially those in the core competency of risk management — with the question: “When can your job be replaced by AI?”

(2)bluntness:無骨さ、無遠慮　(3)confronting:立ち向かっている

He has taken(挿入) to confronting Mitsui staff (挿入) with the question...

社員にこう問いかけるようになった、の意味です。take to doingは〜が習慣になる

The funding side of this endeavour(4) involves earmarking(5) $200m from Mitsui’s published investment plans of $5bn-$6bn to 2020, for a special account to spend on new ventures. These may fall outside Mitsui’s comfort zone(6) and will, Mr Yasunaga says, involve the company “sharpening pencils”.

(4)endeavour:冒険、挑戦　(5)earmark:(金などを)取っておく、充当する　(6)comfort zone:ホッと落ち着ける場所・状況

2020年までの中期経営計画で、200万ドルをベンチャー投資に使うとのこと。コンフォート・ゾーンから抜け出して攻めていこう、という決意を示しています。

ちなみに最後の"sharpening pencils"ですが、実は"sharpen one's pencil"で、攻撃の準備をする/出方を変える、といった意味があります。