International Business Machines Corp said on Tuesday it would delist shares from the Tokyo Stock Exchange to save listing-related costs, becoming the latest foreign company to leave Japan's biggest bourse. The last trading day for shares in IBM, which listed on the TSE in 1974, is set for May 2. IBM's delisting follows rival Apple Computer Inc, which said last November it would delist shares from the TSE as the small turnover of its shares made it difficult to justify high listing costs.
Only 3,880 IBM shares changed hands on the TSE on Tuesday, compared with 5.9 million Fujitsu Ltd shares traded. Fujitsu is Japan's largest computer maker.
As a result of IBM's withdrawal, the number of foreign firms listed on the TSE will fall to 29, compared with 125 in 1990. Besides Tokyo, IBM shares are currently listed on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext in Paris outside the United States.