Tokyo, Osaka bourses to merge in 2013
2011-11-22 11:08:28
Japan's two main bourses on Tuesday announced a plan to merge in January 2013 as they look to boost competitiveness and create one of the world's biggest exchanges.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Group (TSEG) and Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE) issued a joint statement saying they "have agreed to conduct a business combination."
The Tokyo and Osaka bourses hope that combining the TSE, where most cash stocks including Toyota and Sony are traded in Japan, and the OSE, which is strong in derivatives trading, will enhance the global competitiveness of the nation's securities market.
Senior officials of Japanese exchanges have long voiced the need to increase their competitiveness as regional rivals have successfully lured international firms to be listed.
"Domestic mergers and cross-border mergers between exchanges have been gathering momentum overseas," the statement said.
"For a Japanese stock exchange to survive such global competition as a player, it must establish a highly liquid and efficient market and enhance the convenience of investors and companies through strengthening its competitiveness," the joint statement said.
This would be achieved by "expanding its scale, diversifying the financial instruments in which it deals, and reducing costs," the statement added.
The deal will see the Tokyo Stock Exchange Group conduct a tender offer for the OSE's common shares, and convert the OSE into its subsidiary, subject to regulatory approvals, the statement said.
"The enhanced competitiveness of all the financial and capital markets of Japan" would be "a step towards the revitalisation of the Japanese economy," the bourses said.