EXCLUSIVE: Japan to Help Improve Corporate Bond Information Systems

Tokyo, Sept. 11 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Financial Services Agency plans to support the securities industry’s efforts to improve information systems for corporate bonds, Jiji Press learned Friday. The agency aims to revitalize the country’s market for corporate bonds by allowing institutional investors to easily buy and sell them so that companies can raise funds for growth easily. Currently, the Japan Securities Dealers Association provides information about a portion of corporate bonds, such as prices, redemption dates and coupon rates. The FSA intends to make information about more bonds available and easier to see. Buyers of corporate bonds will receive interest payments regularly and the principal will be repaid at maturity as long as the issuing firms do not go bankrupt. Japanese companies face the challenge of diversifying funding sources as most of them rely on bank lending. The Japanese government said in July that the numbers of corporate bond issuers and investors in Japan are smaller than in the United States. The government recently revised the industrial competitiveness enhancement law to encourage companies to issue bonds in small lots and firms with lower credit ratings to issue them. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]