Reuters
Mizuho sees ‘urgency’ as Japan Inc scurries to improve capital use in line with TSE
The Tokyo stock bourse’s rare call for better capital efficiency has made Japanese companies scramble to compile action plans to avoid being seen as laggards, the chief of Mizuho Financial Group’s trust banking unit told Reuters. “There has been a sense of urgency brewing among companies” ahead of January, when the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) starts publishing a list of companies that have disclosed action plans in line with its call to improve their use of capital, Kei Umeda, CEO of Mizuho Trust & Banking, said in an interview. The TSE’s reform push has been hailed by investors as a remedy to Japan’s unusually high number of chronically undervalued stocks, but only 20% of companies listed on the top “prime” section disclosed specific measures as of July.