Corporate Disclosures on Rise ahead of TSE Realignment

Tokyo, March 28 (Jiji Press)--Companies trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange are increasingly disclosing their capital and investment strategies ahead of the TSE's market realignment on April 4.

Firms to be listed on the exchange's Prime new top-tier section are especially reviewing their business strategies and setting road maps for growth in order to attract investors, as the new market's listing criteria are stricter than those of the TSE's current top-tier first section, and companies are finding it necessary to make constant efforts to improve their corporate value.

Daisue Construction Co. <1814>, currently listed on the first section, held in January a briefing on its financial results for individual investors for the first time. At the meeting, the general contractor was bombarded with questions about dividends and business strategy, which led to the company starting to think about how to get investors to understand its competitive advantage.

"Investors are viewing us to decide which company they should choose," a Daisue Construction official said.

Daisue Construction, based in the western Japan city of Osaka, is set to be listed on the Prime section, but without meeting requirements such as on market capitalization for free-floating shares under a measure in place during the transition period.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]