Companies from outside Japan are preparing to sell shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the first time in almost four years, according to Hiroshi Iwase, the bourse’s head of listing promotion.
“Several companies have selected Japanese brokerages as lead managers for initial public offerings and are preparing for listings,” Iwase said in an interview on Tuesday. “It is possible for them to be listed in 2011 or 2012 if the process goes smoothly.”
Iwase would not reveal where the companies are based, in which industries they operate or at what stage they are in the listing process.
If successful, the listings would be the first by foreign companies since Citigroup Inc and China Boqi Environmental Solutions Technology (Holding) Co (博奇環保科技) in 2007. Just 12 foreign companies are currently listed on the Tokyo bourse from a peak of 127 in 1991, according to the exchange’s Web site.
The drop in interest from overseas companies tracks a 54 percent decline in the TOPIX from March 1991 through yesterday.
Citigroup’s Japanese shares have lost 90 percent of their value since their first Tokyo close, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. China Boqi has fallen 90 percent, the data show.
Since 2007, other companies that were close to listing on the exchange have given up at the last moment because of Japan’s sluggish economy, Iwase said.
Listings from overseas will accelerate because companies’ stock and earnings performances have been improving, he said.
The exchange is focused on attracting venture or medium-sized companies aiming to expand business in Japan by gaining recognition through listing, Iwase said.
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