(Photo = Yonhap news)

[Alpha Biz= Reporter Paul Lee] Nikkei reported on the 24th that Japanese listed companies acquired 10.25 trillion yen (about 90.7 trillion won) in treasury stocks in the last fiscal year (April 2023-March 2024).

The amount is up 9% from the previous year, which is 10% of the in-house reserves of listed companies (106 trillion yen, about 940 trillion won) at the end of last year. This is the first time that Japanese listed companies have acquired more than 10 trillion yen in treasury stocks. The number of companies that incinerated their own shares after buying them also reached a record high of 339.

By industry, the company bought a lot of treasury stocks in the order of electricity (1.41 trillion yen, about 12.5 trillion won), trading companies (1.25 trillion yen, about 11.1 trillion won), and services (1.15 trillion yen, about 10.2 trillion won). These are the industries that have been doing well recently. In particular, Mitsubishi Corporation announced in February that it would buy up to 500 billion yen (about 4.4 trillion won) worth of treasury stocks.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange, which called for stronger shareholder returns, also played a major role in Japanese companies' unprecedented purchase of treasury stocks. In April last year, the Tokyo Stock Exchange sent an official letter to each listed company asking them to disclose and implement specific measures to boost stock prices if the price-to-book asset ratio (PBR) falls below one fold. The fact that PBR is less than one fold means that a company's market capitalization is undervalued below its liquidation value. If stock prices rise due to the purchase and incineration of treasury stocks, PBR will also rise. Such shareholder returns have been the driving force behind the strong Japanese stock market since last year.

Experts believe Japanese listed companies will continue to buy back their own shares.

 

 

 

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