Authors: Anton Bridge and Miho Uranaka

TOKYO (Reuters) – It will be easier for Japanese companies to get approval for U.S. acquisitions under the recent Trump administration, vice president of Citigroup (NYSE:) in Japan, even though President-elect Donald Trump opposes Nippon Steel’s attempt to buy out US Steel.

Trump’s presidency will also usher in a business reorganization that will boost the number of takeover targets for Japanese companies, Citi Japan Vice President Masuo Fukuda told Reuters on Tuesday.

Nippon Steel’s proposed $15 billion takeover of the famed U.S. steelmaker is under antitrust and national security review in the United States and is opposed by both Trump and current U.S. President Joe Biden, as well as the United Steelworkers union, which a infrequent point of agreement, economic friction between two close allies.

Still, a broader relaxation of regulations will create opportunities for Japanese companies, the world’s largest investors in the U.S., Fukuda said.

Citi expects an boost in outbound M&A inquiries from Japan, Citi’s M&A chief Yoshinobu Agu said in the same interview.

“Until now, many people in the U.S. have been respectful of the Federal Trade Commission and its strict rules,” Agu said. “This is an opportunity for Japanese companies.”

Legal experts say the commission’s merger review guidelines under Biden, which policymakers found overly restrictive, could be discarded under Trump.

Citi has similarly high expectations for Japan’s spirited M&A market, which has weathered a global deal slump that has reached a record $82 billion this year at the end of November, a more than tenfold boost from the same period last year.

Japan’s M&A guidelines introduced last year to promote more deals, combined with higher expectations for capital efficiency among Japanese institutional investors, will boost the incentive for Japanese companies to engage in M&A in the coming years, Fukuda and Agu.

“Japanese companies have a long history of holding surplus assets. As they reorganize their portfolios to increase shareholder returns and company value, targets will become more attractive and easier to purchase,” Agu said.