UPDATE 1-Japan govt to swiftly implement stock plan -Fukuda
(Adds Kamei remarks, background)
TOKYO, March 13 (Reuters) - Japan's top spokesman said on
Tuesday the government will try to swiftly implement the ruling
coalition's economic package, suggesting the current political
turmoil should not get in the way of nursing the ailing stock
market.
The policy chief of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP), Shizuka Kamei, echoed his views, saying the priority was
for the government to work on the package around April or May,
Jiji news agency said.
He said the public regards the economic package as a pipe
dream because of media reports that the LDP is planning a
presidential election in April, Jiji reported.
An April presidential election would hamper work on putting
the economic package into effect, Kamei said, suggesting he did
not want a change in leadership around that time.
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has said he intends to bring
forward an LDP presidential election before September, a move
that paves the way for his exit. The LDP's president typically
becomes prime minister due to the coalition's majority in the
powerful Lower House of parliament.
The ruling tripartite coalition last Friday announced an
emergency package to boost the stock market, including a mix of
policy proposals ranging from lowering taxes on stock dividends
to setting up a special fund to absorb stock sales. The measures
are not expected to require any fiscal spending.
To speed up discussions over tax measures, the government may
urge the powerful tax panel of the LDP to take the unusual step
of beginning discussions early this year, chief government
spokesman Yasuo Fukuda said.
However, that could prove difficult, as Sadanori Yamanaka, a
senior adviser to the LDP tax panel, said on Monday discussions
over tax reform would only begin in November.
Debate on tax reform for the following fiscal year usually
begins toward the end of the year and is completed in late
December.
The unveiling of the emergency package has done little to
assuage investors' bruised sentiment, however, because many
players still harbour doubts over the resolve and ability of the
coalition to push the package through parliament.
The benchmark Nikkei share average fell below 12,000 for the
first time since February 1985 on Tuesday, mainly led by a fall
in high-tech issues given weakness in the U.S. Nasdaq market.
"Since the emergency package has been created, we will make
every effort to implement it," Fukuda told a news conference when
asked about the Nikkei's slide below the 12,000 yen level.
Asked whether political uncertainty was having a negative
effect on stock prices, Fukuda said: "I certainly hope not."
((Tokyo Newsroom +81-3 3432 7587
tokyo.newsroom@reuters.com))
REUTERS
Asia Forex: Yen Steady As Nikkei Fall Within Expectations
By Audrey McAvoy
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--The yen was spared a sell-off in reaction to plummeting
Japanese share prices Tuesday, as losses posted by the benchmark Nikkei were
within market expectations, players said.
In fact, the yen was actually given a boost by the Nikkei's woes in a rather
backhanded way: Japanese investors were spotted buying yen to repatriate
more overseas assets as a way of compensating for additional losses
generated by the Nikkei's continued falls.
The Nikkei fell as far as 3.8% to 11710.33 Tuesday in the wake of heavy
losses across the board in U.S. stocks overnight. The Nikkei is now near new
17-year closing lows.
Yen-buying repatriation flows from Japanese companies preparing for their
fiscal year end book-closings on March 31 have held down the dollar since
early this year. Though market players have generally expected the
repatriation flows to end by around this week, the Nikkei's losses may drag
this activity out longer, players said.
The yen was also helped by the fact the Nikkei's losses stayed within
expectations, players said.
At 0530 GMT, the Nikkei was down 1.9% at 11938.84, close to the close to the
11910 settlement price of June Nikkei 225 futures on the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange overnight.
At 0515 GMT (12:15 a.m. EST), the dollar was quoted at Y120.17, below
Y120.36 late Monday in New York. The dollar was at Y120.38 late Monday in
Tokyo.
The euro was at $0.9285, lower than $0.9296 late Monday in New York. The
euro was at $0.9333 in Tokyo Monday.
Against the yen, the euro was quoted at Y111.58, down from Y111.89 in New
York late Monday. The euro was at Y112.35 in Tokyo late Monday.
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-13-01
12:33 AM
*** end of story ***
Tokyo stocks hover at =2
On Monday, the tech-laden Nasdaq index <.IXIC> fell 6.30
percent to 1,923.39, closing below the 2,000 mark for the first
time since December 1998.
Among Japanese high-tech shares, which are along with
Internet stocks most vulnerable to fluctuations on the Nasdaq,
chip and electronics maker NEC fell 6.37 percent to 1,559 yen,
and Fujitsu Ltd <6702.T>, Japan's largest computer manufacturer,
lost 3.56 percent to 1,434 yen.
Internet investor Softbank Corp <9984.T> fell 6.28 percent to
4,180 yen while popular Internet portal Yahoo Japan Corp <4689.Q>
stumbled 11.48 percent to 5.01 million yen.
Banking shares emerged as another major loser on Tuesday due
to investor fears that the steep fall in Tokyo stocks would
substantially hurt their financial health.
Sumitomo Bank slipped 4.26 percent to 1,056 yen, while
industry leader Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi Ltd (BTM) <8315.T> was
down 3.25 percent at 1,131 yen.
With the TOPIX falling under 1,200, Japanese top banks are
expected to suffer at least 4.2 trillion yen ($34.85 billion)
worth of unrealised losses in their shareholdings, said Nozomu
Kunishige, senior analyst at Lehman Brothers.
Even BTM, viewed as one of the most healthy banks in Japan,
may have suffered latent losses on securities holdings, he said.
((Kiyoshi Takenaka, Tokyo Equities Desk +81-3 3432 8837
tokyo.newsroom@reuters.com))
Japan Health Min Says Expects Mori Resignation Soon-Kyodo
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Japanese Health Minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Tuesday
he understood Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's plan to bring forward the
presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party as a virtual
announcement of his resignation, Kyodo News reported.
"While it isn't easy to ascertain when he will quit, the premier should
decide by weighing all the factors concerned. I got the impression that it
is coming fairly rapidly," said Sakaguchi, who is a member of the New
Komeito Party, one of the LDP's coalition allies, Kyodo reported.
Mori told five top LDP officials Saturday he wants to bring forward the
party's presidential election from September. The comment was widely
interpreted as signaling his intention to resign, but Mori has insisted it
wasn't.
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-13-01 |
