By
Svetlana Soroka
April 25th, 2024
The strategic partnership with Animoca Brands will help solidify Mitsui’s entrance into the Web3 industry that is slated to change global financial markets.
Amid the growing blockchain need in Japan, Mitsui & Co Ltd (Japan: 8031), a Tokyo-based trading conglomerate with more than $114 billion in total assets, signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership with Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands to steer forward Web3 adoption in the country. According to the announcement, the two entities aim to create a new business through a strategic investment to focus on Web3 development in Japan.
Moreover, the Japanese government and the Japan Business Federation have significantly increased their attention on Web3 adoption as a means to strengthen the national economic agenda. With the government crypto policies in place, Animoca Brands and Mitsui aims to build infrastructure for wellness and the application of decarbonization.
“Looking ahead, Mitsui and Animoca Brands will work together to provide solutions for societal issues by accelerating the development of their strategic partnership, such as through the development of collaborative businesses and the establishment of joint ventures in diverse fields,” Animoca Brands noted.
Already, Mitsui has made significant strides in digital assets through the tokenization of fractionalized real estate to its customers. As a result, the strategic partnership with Animoca Brands will help solidify Mitsui’s entrance into the Web3 industry that is slated to change global financial markets.
Animoca Brands and Mitsui in Blockchain Technology
Animoca Brands has over the past few years earned a respectable position as a Web3 leader, with a heavy presence in the Asian market. Reportedly, Animoca Brands has invested in more than 450 Web3 companies in the past years. Some of the notable Web3 products from Animoca Brands include Colossal, Axie Infinity, OpenSea, Dapper Labs through NBA Top Shot, Yield Guild Games, Harmony, Alien Worlds, and Star Atlas, among many others.
With the increased crypto regulatory scrutiny in the United States that has chased digital asset firms overseas, Animoca Brands has increased its presence in Eastern Asia among other crypto-friendly markets. Moreover, the company has received a strategic investment of $22.5 million from Japan’s largest bank, MUFG.
Similarly, Mitsui President and CEO, Kenichi Hori, remains confident in the Web3 growth in Japan amid blockchain adoption. As a result, its stock market rallied about 85 percent last year and another 49 percent this year to trade around ¥5,744 on Tuesday. Notably, analysts remain bullish on the ¥8.23 trillion valued company with an average rating of Over.
The relationship between American and Japanese tech companies continues to deepen with Berkshire Hathaway IncCl B (NYSE: BRK.B) announcing a stake in Mitsui among other companies. According to Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett in a statement, the Japanese stock market is highly undervalued.