A couple of news items from the Nikkei Net. Things seem to be pretty slow for Softbank and for this board <G>:
Friday, June 16, 2000
Nomura Securities To Sell IPO Issues Via Internet
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Nomura Securities Co. (8604) plans to sell newly listed stocks via its online brokerage from July, company sources said Thursday.
Only customers with accounts at its HomeTrade online stock trading service will be able to purchase the shares. If the stocks are oversubscribed, the company will determine the buyers by lot.
Initial public offerings are usually popular among individual investors who expect to make quick gains. All the stocks sold will be lead-managed by Nomura.
Nomura's HomeTrade has about 270,000 accounts, more than any other online brokerage. Nomura plans to make full use of its lead-managing business to increase the lineup of stocks offered by HomeTrade.
ETrade Japan KK, an affiliate of Softbank Corp. (9984), Nikko Beans Inc. and other companies, are already selling newly listed stocks over the Internet.
(The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Friday morning edition)
Friday, June 16, 2000
New Issue: Morningstar Japan To List On Nasdaq Japan June 23
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Morningstar Japan KK on June 23 will list on Nasdaq Japan, a new computer-based market that will be set up on the Osaka Securities Exchange this month.
The Tokyo-based company, established in March 1998 as a joint venture of the Softbank Corp. (9984) group and U.S.-based Morningstar Inc., is a pioneer in providing investment trust fund ratings online in Japan. Growing demand from individuals managing their own assets is helping it to expand operations.
Morningstar Japan now rates more than 1,800 funds on a five-point scale, awarding its Five Star rating to the best-managed funds.
Online ratings are provided chiefly to employees at smaller businesses and the self-employed, who are not covered under corporate pension systems. "Some 16 million workers at large corporations are covered under corporate pension plans, but as many as 38 million other people are working for companies that do not have such plans," says company President Hideyuki Nanaumi. "Potential demand for our service is huge."
Investors can view the ratings for free on Morningstar Japan's Web site. The firm makes money by selling advertising space as well as detailed reports on individual stocks and funds.
Revenue from online advertising accounted for 37% of total sales in the fiscal year ended December 1999, while report sales comprised 18%.
Morningstar Japan sees pretax profit jumping 11 times on the year to about 240 million yen this term as sales double to 560 million yen. The projection reflects booming sales of Net advertising space and the firm's pullout from unprofitable operations last December.
The company plans to use proceeds from the initial public offering to upgrade its Web site and hire more analysts. It will not pay a dividend for this fiscal year because it aims to build up internal reserves.
Initial public offering: 400 shares
Secondary sales: 600 shares
Offering period: June 16-June 20
Issue date: June 22
Issue price: 7 million yen
Lead manager: Daiwa Securities SB Capital Markets Co.
(The Nikkei Financial Daily Friday edition) |
