Japan Post Holdings Co and its two financial units have begun roads shows overseas to drum up interest among institutional investors for initial public offerings expected to raise $11.6 billion, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The three IPOs are scheduled to hit the market on November 4, and are mainly aimed at domestic retail investors. Only a fifth of the offerings will be allocated to overseas institutional investors.
The overseas roadshows began in Hong Kong earlier this month, but marketing teams will also be sent elsewhere in Asia, Europe and the United States over the coming weeks, said the sources, who were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Japan Post Holdings President Taizo Nishimuro would be participating in some of the roadshows, as would the presidents of Japan Post Bank Co and Japan Post Insurance Co, the sources said.
A total of ten teams would be conducting the roadshows. Officials at Japan Post and its owner Finance Ministry were not immediately available for comment. Overseas institutional investors were considered an important market for the IPOs, in order to reduce the exposure to any swing in sentiment among domestic investors.
A banker at a major investment bank, who declined to be named reckoned they would need to secure "at least 700-800 billion yen in potential demand" from overseas institutional investors to serve as a stabiliser in case of selloff by retail investors. The three companies have to sustain investor interest beyond the IPOs, as the government has to sell all but one-third of its Japan Post shares and Japan Post needs to sell all of its stake in the bank and the insurer eventually.
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