When Du Pont listed its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on October 2, it brought the number of foreign listings there to 34, more than three times the number listed just 15 months earlier. The rush to list in Tokyo, which began with Walt Disney Enterprises in June 1985, reflects interest in global, 24-hour trading, interest in thc Japanese market - companies hoping to penetrate markets there want the prestige a listing brings them - and interest in tapping the enormous pool of capital in 'Japanesc hands.
Sceptics think that the ideas held by many of these firms about listing are not much more realistic than Disney's amusement parks, but the rush has continued, despite the formidable costs. Ten firms, after Disney, listed in 1985; and 12 more havc listed so far this year.
That is partly due to the amount of new money the Japanese have to invest, according to Katsuya Takanashi of Nomura Securities. Takanashi is general manager of thc International Department of Nomura, which has sponsored 13 of the companies now listed on the Tokyo exchange. (All foreign companies must be sponsored by an exchange member securities firm.)
'Japanese investors as a group are the largest in the world," he said.