Japan must enhance the way assets are managed to encourage foreign investors to help prompt a long-awaited shift among households from savings to assets, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
(Bloomberg) — Japan must enhance the way assets are managed to encourage foreign investors to help prompt a long-awaited shift among households from savings to assets, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
Improvements are needed for corporate governance, lowering entry barriers and boosting asset classes as foreign investors show a rising interest in Japan, Kishida said at an event of brokerage firms on Monday. He was the first premier to attend the event in 29 years, and his remarks kicked off a promotional campaign by the government to try and sell Japan as a key international financial center.
“I want everyone here to carry out strong reforms, with a sense of urgency — as if you would be left behind without changing now,” said Kishida, who last week made a renewed bid in New York to lure foreign asset managers to Japan.
The government campaign is the latest in decades of Japanese efforts to try and capture the attention of global financial markets. But those attempts to lure investors have seen limited success so far, with Tokyo continuing to slip down rankings for global financial centers.
Z/Yen and the City Of London’s latest report put Tokyo at 21st in its ranking of financial hubs, down from 16th place last year. In Asia, Tokyo was ranked below Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Shenzhen and Beijing.
Still, Kishida said last week that funds under management in Japan had ballooned by 50% over the past three years to about ¥800 trillion ($5.4 trillion). The country also continues to boast more than ¥2,000 trillion in personal financial assets, although it has struggled to get households to move cash savings into the financial markets.
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