Japan's largest bourse plans to launch the nation's first bullion-backed, gold exchange-traded fund on June 30, in a bid to draw more investors and help enhance Tokyo as a financial centre. The Tokyo Stock Exchange said on Friday that it will offer the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, which is sponsored by a subsidiary of the World Gold Council and whose marketing agent is State Street Global Markets.
The Tokyo bourse has been studying the possibility of listing such ETFs as a means of offering a broader variety of listed financial products and attract more investors. Friday's move was welcomed by Japanese market participants. "Many investors have been waiting for this launch for a while. It will draw a lot of attention from investors," said Tatsuo Kageyama, an analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management.
The Tokyo bourse had been waiting for a new legal framework. A bill passed by Japan's parliament last week allowed for the creation of ETFs for commodities, and made it possible for banks and other firms to engage in emissions trading. "It's difficult to tell whether this (the ETF) will be an instantaneous hit product or not, but the launch in Japan will provide overall support for the market," said Kageyama.
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