TSE starts trading under realigned 3 new markets

Jiji Press

18:01 JST, April 4, 2022

Tokyo, April 4 (Jiji Press)—The Tokyo Stock Exchange started trading under restructured three new markets Monday, carrying out its first large-scale market overhaul in some 60 years in a bid to attract more investment funds.

The realignment created the Prime top-tier section for global companies, the Standard section for midsize companies and the Growth section for startups, shifting from the previous four markets—the first and second sections, Jasdaq and Mothers.

The Prime Market started with 1,839 companies, or some 85 pct of the firms listed on the previous first section. The Standard Market lists 1,466 companies and the Growth Market 466 companies.

“Today marks the start of new efforts by the 3,771 listed companies to achieve sustainable growth and increase corporate value over the medium to long term,” Akira Kiyota, group CEO of Japan Exchange Group Inc. , or JPX, the parent of the TSE, said at a ceremony before trading on the new markets began at 9 a.m. (midnight Sunday GMT).

He said that the TSE intends to increase the effectiveness of the realignment by carefully examining whether the new markets are functioning properly for companies and investors.

The TSE started reviewing its market segments in 2018 as the previous divisions were vague in concept and there was some overlap in their positioning.

The exchange tightened its listing standards, while introducing transitional measures to allow companies to remain listed on the Prime Market even if they do not meet the new criteria.

Of the companies listed on the Prime Market, 295 have not met the new criteria, a situation criticized by foreign investors as insufficient for market reforms.

The TSE plans to determine when to terminate the transitional measures after listening to the opinions of experts.