TSE, LSE to Create Stock Market for Small Asian Start-Ups

Faced with a decline in manufacturing jobs in Japan, Tokyo is trying to become the area’s financial capital, and one of the first steps in that crusade is the formation of a new stock exchange for Asian start-up companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange are partnering to create the new market, which will be modeled after the Alternative Investments Market in London, which also serves smaller companies. Created in 1995, AIM now lists more than 2,800 companies.

The new Tokyo market should be operational by the end of next year, said Atsushi Saito, chief executive officer of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Besides creating new, well-paying jobs, the new market could also deliver strong returns for Japanese investors, who are beginning to move their money from bank accounts into investment vehicles.

Further, the TSE experienced technological problems a few years ago, and a modern new market could ameliorate that and pave the way for the TSE to go public.