Mitsui & Co

Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
三井物産株式会社

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Type	Public (KK)
Traded as	: TOPIX Core 30 Component
Industry	Trading Companies
Founded	July 25, 1947; 70 years ago (1947-07-25)
Founder	Takashi Masuda, Tatsuzo Minakami
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Area served	141 Offices in 66 Countries / Regions (2015)
Key people	Masami Iijima (Chairman) Tatsuo Yasunaga (President and CEO)
Products	Iron & Steel Products Mineral & Metal Resources Infrastructure Projects Integrated Transportation Systems Chemicals Energy Food Resources Food Products & Services Consumer Services IT & Communication Business Corporate Development Business
Revenue	Yen 5,738 billion (2008)
Operating income	Yen 375 billion (2008)
Net income	Yen 410 billion (2008)
Number of employees	6,006 (Consolidated:47,118) (2015)
Subsidiaries	279 Subsidiaries, 166 Equity Accounted Investees (2015)
Website	www.mitsui.com/jp/en/index.html

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (三井物産, Mitsui Bussan) is one of the largest sogo shosha (general trading companies) in Japan, and also part of the Mitsui Group. Its business area covers energy, machinery, chemicals, food, textile, logistics, finance, and more.

The company was first established in 1876 with 16 members including the founder, Takashi Masuda. As Japan's international trading was dominated by foreigners since the end of the Edo period, it aimed to displace trading back to Japanese nationals by expanding business owned by Japanese citizens. By the end of World War II, it became a dominant trading giant, but was dissolved by the order of GHQ.

The current Mitsui & Co. was established in 1947 as Daiichi Bussan Kaisha, Ltd. In 1959, it merged with several other trading companies and changed its name to Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

During Japan's period of rapid postwar economic growth, Mitsui was a key player in several major projects in the natural resources sector. In 1971, it took a stake in an offshore gas field near Das Island in Abu Dhabi, which supplies liquefied natural gas to Japan on an exclusive basis; it invested in a major Western Australian LNG project in 1985 and in the Sakhalin II project in 1994.

Subsidiary Mitsui Oil Exploration's MOEX Offshore had a 10% stake in the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico through a subsidiary, and in May, 2011, MOEX agreed to pay US$1.07 billion to settle British Petroleum claims against it over the explosion and oil spill at the well. Some analysts had thought BP would realize a larger settlement from MOEX but there was also relief to have a first step toward resolving the multiple claims.