Nasdaq Japan Hopes to List 70 Companies by Year's End
By YUMIKO NISHITANI
Dow Jones Newswires
TOKYO -- Nasdaq Japan Inc. said Monday trading will begin June 19 on its section of the Osaka Securities Exchange featuring high-tech startups, with as many as eight companies making the debut.
Nasdaq Japan Will Start Trading With Limited Hours and Listings (March 15)
Tatsuyuki Saeki, president of Nasdaq Japan, said he expects about 10 new companies to list on the exchange each month through the rest of the year, for a total of about 70 by the end of 2000. The listings would include dual listings and market transfers, he said.
Nasdaq Japan, which is a joint venture between Softbank Corp. and the U.S. National Association of Securities Dealers Inc., began receiving listing applications from companies Monday.
The Osaka Securities Exchange, or OSE, which is in charge of screening listing applications, has given preliminary approval to the eight applicants and will make a final decision by May 18, said Yoshiaki Sugio, an OSE official in charge of listing approvals.
The applicants include: Xnet Corp., Creek & River Co., Sugi Pharmacy Co., Digital Design Co., Digicube Co., Don Quijote Co., Honda Verno Tokai Co. and Masternet Co.
The announcement follows the Tokyo Stock Exchange's inauguration last year of its Mothers stock market, which also caters to Japanese venture companies. The establishment of the markets aims to meet a growing need for cash among Japanese startups, whose business is increasing as the nation's corporate sector spends more for investment in information technology.
Officials at Japanese securities companies cautioned however that Nasdaq Japan's goal of listing 70 companies by the year-end might be too ambitious.
"The target number seems aggressive when considering that Nasdaq Japan has the toughest standards among [Japanese] venture markets," said Yoichi Kawasaki, general manager of equity administration at Daiwa Securities SB Capital Markets. He said recent news reports have said 150 companies will likely list shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and another 100 will list on the over-the-counter market this year, potentially reducing Nasdaq Japan's pool.
No Softbank Unit In First Batch
Nasdaq Japan officials said Monday that seven companies applied under the market's standard listing criteria, which focuses more on current performance, while one company applied under its growth-prospect criteria.
Four of the applicants are privately held: Xnet, an asset management firm; Creek & River, which manages picture and multimedia contents; Sugi Pharmacy, a drug store operator; and Digital Design, a software developer.
Digicube and Masternet will move from the over-the-counter market run by the Japan Securities Dealers Association. The OTC market doesn't allow dual listing, but stock exchanges do.
Don Quijote, currently listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Second Section, is applying for transfer to the its Mothers market at the same time it seeks listing on Nasdaq Japan, a Don Quijote executive said.
Honda Verno is currently listed on the Nagoya Stock Exchange. Honda Verno President Kazuho Takahashi did not say whether the company plans to delist from the exchange.
Some market players were relieved that the list of eight didn't contain any Softbank affiliates. Some had expected Softbank to try to realize capital gains by placing its affiliates on the new market.
One such affiliate that was expected to list, Cisco Systems K.K., hasn't decided whether to list on Nasdaq Japan, Mr. Saeki said.
Instead, Softbank affiliate Morningstar Japan K.K. is expected to submit an application in "the next few days" to debut some time in June, he said.
"The fact that no Softbank affiliate is among the initial companies applying for a listing highlights efforts, by the Osaka bourse in particular, to clear skepticism and to emphasize the fairness of the market," Daiwa's Mr. Kawasaki said. |
