Arabic version: منصة يابانية قد توسّع تداول أسهم الشركات الناشئة

According to Cnbc, Japan’s startup and initial-public-offering markets may benefit from a new platform designed to help unlisted companies raise capital and give investors additional ways to trade private shares.

Earlier this month, Japan’s Financial Services Agency registered Smartround Securities as a specialist brokerage for secondary-market trading in unlisted shares. The Smartround unit was classified as a Type I Financial Instruments Business, a step analysts described as a significant milestone for the country’s IPO ecosystem.

Investors in Japanese startups have had limited routes to cash out, mainly through IPOs or third-party acquisitions. A more efficient market for buying and selling unlisted shares could make it easier for capital to reach growing businesses, said Sylvain Thieullent, chief executive officer of Horizon Trading Solutions. He said companies could reach public markets better prepared, improving the quality of Japan’s IPO pipeline.

Jeremy Tan, chief executive officer of Tiger Fund Management, said the platform fits regulators’ goals of improving governance at unlisted companies. He said it could provide investors with greater oversight while giving founders a channel to engage with minority investors. Tan also said digitalized ledgers and corporate records could improve transparency and disclosures, although founders and senior management would need to meet disclosure requirements to gain access.

Thieullent said the central challenge is building liquidity and better price discovery without treating private shares as though they have the same transparency as listed stocks. Japan’s move forms part of a broader global shift in which regulators in markets including the United States and the United Kingdom are reshaping private markets.