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JPX group companies undertake various initiatives and disseminate information with the aim of providing the most attractive markets to all users.
Every month, we showcase the highlights of these efforts in short and concise summaries just for you.
On November 7, TSE selected the four companies listed below as finalists (nominees for Grand Prix) of the 5th Corporate Value Improvement Award based on the results of the examination by the Listed Company Award Selection Committee (Chairman: Adjunct Professor Kunio Ito, Graduate School of Commerce and Management, Hitotsubashi University). The committee recognized that these four companies had significantly improved corporate value and implemented management practices that are aimed at creating corporate value that exceeds capital cost. The Grand Prix winner will be determined in January 2017.
- Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd. (2269)
- START TODAY CO., LTD. (3092)
- Kao Corporation (4452)
- Astellas Pharma Inc. (4503)
(Listed in order of code number)
On November 18, TSE and Sapporo Securities Exchange (SSE) jointly held a seminar for business managers and IPO-related parties in Hokkaido to deliberate on the possibility of going public as part of a future management strategy. The seminar consisted of a briefing on recent trends in TSE's TOKYO PRO Market and SSE's Ambitious Market, as well as a panel discussion on IPOs.
JPX delivered the FY2016 training course for JICA Stock Exchange Development in Asian Countries to representatives from Mongolia and Vietnam on October 31–November 9, and to Myanmar representatives on November 14–25. Participants engaged in lively Q&A sessions during lectures on a wide-range of topics including, but not limited to, listing, trading, settlement, self-regulation, and securities and financial education. The program for Myanmar featured special courses tailored specifically to the current situation in Myanmar, since it was the first training course in Japan after the launch of Yangon Stock Exchange. This was also the first training course conducted in autumn. As such, we are confident that they were able to indulge in a wonderful Japanese autumn landscape and the first November snow in 54 years.
The Association for Real Estate Securitization (ARES) and TSE held J-REIT Fair 2016 in Tokyo on November 26. J-REITs are expected to provide investors with relatively high levels of stable dividends and have garnered attention as profitable investment products in a low interest rate era, resulting in a growing market. This year marked the 15th anniversary since the J-REIT market launched. A record number of 42 investment corporations held seminars or set up booths to showcase attractive products to retail investors. The event attracted about 1,150 visitors, exceeding that of last year, with packed seminars and booths. At booths, retail investors, in particular, directly talked to staff in charge of J-REITs and gathered information. A humanoid robot with the ability to read emotions, Pepper, also welcomed visitors at the entrance, provided some information on J-REITs, and posed for photos.
On November 30, TSE announced that TSE, OSE, and JSCC (JPX group companies) would form a consortium of Japanese financial institutions to continue to conduct proof of concept (PoC) testing and discuss the possibility of applying blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) to the capital market infrastructure both from technical and operational perspectives. JPX group companies established an internal research group late last year to study the applicability of DLT to the capital market infrastructure. Through the research and PoC testing, it was concluded that while DLT has the potential to transform the capital market structure, further research and development is still needed before actually applying DLT to the capital market infrastructure. Through the consortium, JPX group companies will cooperate with a wide range of stakeholders, such as financial institutions and DLT engineers, to make steady progress in verifying the technology. As such, TSE will create a test environment for PoC via the consortium.
On November 30, the Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan's Stewardship Code and Japan's Corporate Governance Code formed by the Financial Services Agency and TSE presented a written opinion on effective stewardship activities by institutional investors.
This written opinion suggests initiatives required for asset management firms and asset owners to conduct constructive dialogue between said entities for sustainable corporate growth and increased corporate value over the mid- to long-term, including strengthening the governance system in asset management firms, improving publication of execution results of voting rights, and ensuring effective stewardship activities by asset owners.
