Fund managers are urging investors to take another look at Japan’s battered stock markets after a combination of poor long-term performance and the March Tohoku earthquake have pushed valuations low across the board. Data from Chuo Mitsui Trust International, the London-based arm of the Japanese fund manager, reveal that 66% of listed Japanese companies were trading at a price to book (p/b) ratio of less than one as of April 1.
| "The market has fully absorbed the implications of the damage suffered in the region and the direct consequences to firms that were particularly affected" |
The p/b ratio of a company is a means of comparing its current book value (tangible assets minus liabilities) with the price of its shares. A ratio below one is low and implies that the company might be underpriced or in trouble.
While CMTI’s number is still below the record of 75% of companies reached in 2009 it is an increase on the situation before the global financial crisis: between 2005 and mid-2007 the ratio of companies trading at a p/b ratio below one was under 30%.