Capital investment by Japanese companies excluding the financial and insurance sectors rose a record 16.8 percent in the October-December quarter from the same period a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said Monday, signaling the corporate-led economic expansion remains strong.
It is the sharpest increase since the government started to calculate the figure in July-September 2002 and the 15th straight quarterly rise, the ministry said.
The latest figure shows that capital investment, along with exports, is a driving force of the economy, and it helps validate the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike last month to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent, analysts said.