Leaders of Korea's financial investment industry will visit Japan in the second half of this year to examine the country's value-up (listed company value enhancement) cases, policies, and innovative firms. With the KOSPI posting the highest gain among major global indices this year, the trip reflects a determination to develop products that can attract long-term investor interest in the domestic market and to prepare measures for advancing the capital market.
According to the financial investment industry on the 26th, Hwang Sung-yeop, chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, and chief executive officers of major brokerages and asset management firms plan to visit Tokyo, Japan, in November. Around 10 CEOs are known to have expressed their intention to attend. This marks the second time brokerage and asset management CEOs have jointly visited an overseas site since Hwang took office, following a trip to China and Singapore in April this year. The CEOs who have expressed their intention to attend are part of the NPK delegation. The association forms an industry and NPK delegation each year to support member firms in grasping global trends and discovering investment opportunities.
The purpose of this Japan visit is tied to the task of "advancing the domestic capital market." Although the selection of the trip's theme is in its early stages, "stock market value-up" is reported to be the most likely topic. Through its value-up program launched in 2023, Japan has been working to raise the price-to-book ratio (PBR) of TOPIX, Japan's composite stock price index, and to enhance shareholder value in order to boost confidence in the stock market. Like Japan, Korea is also implementing shareholder return policies through value-up programs, such as strengthening corporate disclosures by listed companies, but observers point out that these need to become more active than they currently are. Plans to meet with the Japan Securities Dealers Association and others to introduce Korea's value-up issues and discuss the background of Japan's stock market rise and the significance of value-up are also under review.
The tax-exempt small-scale investment system (NISA), which sparked an investment boom in Japan, is another topic of interest. The newly revamped "New NISA" system, which exempts capital gains and dividends earned from investing in stocks or funds through dedicated accounts from taxation, is credited with significantly contributing to the expansion of stock investment among young Japanese people.
As artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor stocks have also driven Japan's stock market, the CEOs are examining schedules to directly visit innovative firms, including Japanese semiconductor companies. This is interpreted as reflecting a judgment that new investment products need to be prepared as the number of domestic investors putting money into the Japanese stock market grows.
