Tokyo, Osaka bourses to merge in late 2012

Japan's two main bourses are in the final stages of months-long merger talks, eyeing integration in late 2012 to boost global competitiveness, reports said Monday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) and Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE) could merge in autumn 2012 after the Tokyo bourse obtains a majority stake in the Osaka exchange, the Nikkei economic daily said without naming sources. They aim to strike a final agreement by the end of this month, the TBS network said. The Nikkei said a likely scenario would see the TSE conduct a tender offer for OSE shares as early as next spring to take a more than 50 percent stake, but short of the two-thirds threshold that could cause the OSE to delist. The firms would then combine, the daily said. The TSE is not a listed company. Shares in the OSE, based in the western industrial hub of Osaka, jumped 6.30 percent to 388,000 yen on the Jasdaq market Monday morning. The Tokyo and Osaka bourses hope that combining the TSE, where most cash stocks are traded in Japan, and the OSE, which is strong in derivatives trading, will enhance the global competitiveness of the nation's securities market, the Nikkei said. They also believe the move will help ease the heavy cost burdens for computer systems, it said. The move would create a holding company and four subsidiaries, each specialising in cash products, futures trading, settlement and self-regulation, it said. TSE president Atsushi Saito is expected to become chief executive of the merged entity, with OSE president Michio Yoneda taking the post of chief operating officer, it said. Senior officials of Japanese exchanges have long voiced the need to increase their competitiveness as regional bourses, such as Singapore, have successfully lured international firms to be listed. Neither bourse would confirm the report when contacted by AFP. a