'Japan Looks To Keep Companies Honest About Cross-Shareholding Cuts; Tighter Disclosure Rules Aim To Keep Shares From Being Repurposed In Name Only' - Nikkei Asia
'Japan Looks To Keep Companies Honest About Cross-Shareholding Cuts; Tighter Disclosure Rules Aim To Keep Shares From Being Repurposed In Name Only' - Nikkei Asia
Under the current rules, only the issuer's name and the shares' value must be disclosed.TOKYO -- Japan will require listed companies to disclose more information if they reclassify strategically held shares as being owned for investment purposes, amid concerns that some businesses are concealing their actual intentions, Nikkei has learned.
根據日本《日本證券交易法》的規定，如果將某些具有戰略意義的股份重新分類爲投資目的的股份，上市公司將被要求披露更多信息，以防止一些企業隱瞞其實際意圖。
This comes as institutional investors step up pressure on companies to unwind "strategic" shareholdings -- commonly used in Japan to maintain business relationships -- that do not contribute to growth. Around 2,600 publicly listed enterprises, or two-thirds of the total, cross-hold shares from at least one company.
在機構投資者加大對企業解除「戰略」股權的壓力之際，這一措施出台。在日本，這種「戰略」股權是用來維持業務關係的，但並不對增長有所貢獻。約有2,600家上市企業，佔總數的三分之二，持有至少一家公司的交叉持股。
Companies that change the reason they own a particular stock from strategic purposes to investment will need to explain why in their annual reports, as well as state whether the issuer of the shares has consented to an eventual sale. This aims to ensure that they are not trying to pare cross-shareholdings on paper while actually maintaining them.
將持有某隻股票的目的從戰略目的更改爲投資目的的公司，需要在其年度報告中解釋原因，並說明股份的發行人是否同意最終出售。這旨在確保他們不是在紙上削減交叉持股，而實際上仍在持有。
Under the current rules, only the issuer's name and the shares' value must be disclosed.
根據現行規定，只需要披露股份的發行人名稱和股份價值。
The changes will be included in the Financial Services Agency's annual strategic priorities report due out as early as this month, with the aim of implementing them starting with annual reports for the fiscal year ending March 2025.
這些變化將包含在金融服務機構的年度戰略重點報告中，最早將於本月公佈，旨在從截至2025年3月的財年開始實施。
Currently, companies must disclose their 60 largest cross-shareholdings as well as any that amount to more than 1% of their capital stock. Shares held for investment purposes have much lighter requirements, with companies needing to report such holdings only if the size of their stake in a given company changed that fiscal year.
目前，公司必須披露其60個最大的交叉持股，以及任何超過其股本總額1%的交叉持股。出於投資目的持有的股份有較輕的要求，只有在公司在該財年內對某個公司的持股數量發生變化時，才需要報告此類持股。
Amid the pressure to cut cross-shareholdings, the amount of shares being switched from the strategic category to investment has surged, nearly doubling to 637.9 billion yen ($4.37 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 2024. Regional banks account for 70% or so of that total, with at least one reclassifying tens of billions of yen in stock at once.
在壓力下削減交叉持股的情況下，從戰略類別轉向投資類別的股票金額急劇增加，截至2024年3月結束的財年達到6379億日元（43.7億美元），幾乎翻了一番。地區銀行佔該總數的70%左右，其中至少有一家一次性將數百億日元的股票重新分類。
Every year, the FSA examines annual reports to confirm their accuracy. Its fiscal 2023 survey cast doubt on the actual purpose of companies' shareholdings in multiple cases, such as companies reclassifying cross-shareholdings without the owner's consent for a sale, or ostensibly owning shares to trade but holding on to them for years without selling any.
每年，金融服務機構都會檢查年度報告以確認其準確性。其2023財年的調查在多個案例中對公司持股目的的實際性提出了質疑，例如，公司在沒有股權擁有者同意的情況下重新分類交叉持股，或者明明擁有股份用於交易，卻多年不賣出。
The agency plans to expand this review from around 100 companies in fiscal 2023 to all listed enterprises in fiscal 2024.
該機構計劃將此次審查從2023財年的約100家公司擴大到2024財年的所有上市企業。