Japan Post Holdings to Sell Over 1 B. Banking Unit Shares

Tokyo, Feb. 27 (Jiji Press)--Japan Post Holdings Co. <6178> said Monday it will sell up to 1,089 million shares in Japan Post Bank <7182> next month.

Through the first secondary offering of Japan Post Bank shares since the three Japan Post group firms, also including Japan Post Insurance Co. <7181>, went public in November 2015, the holding firm's stake in the banking arm will drop from about 89 pct to around 60 pct in terms of voting rights, people familiar with the matter said.

While the offering price has yet to be fixed, the sale is expected to reach over 1 trillion yen, they noted.

The share sale is aimed at keeping the bank listed on the top-tier Prime section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange by increasing the proportion of its floating shares, currently at 10.6 pct, to meet the 35 pct requirement.

Besides, Japan Post Holdings plans to lower its stake in Japan Post Bank to below 50 pct by fiscal 2025 so the banking unit will be able to engage in new business operations without gaining government approval in advance.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]