- The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) was targeting China and other Asian countries to boost business and maintain its status as a global exchange as many top Western companies delist, an exchange official said.

Following the departures of International Business Machines Corp., Apple Computer Inc., Procter & Gamble and others, the number of foreign firms on the TSE has dropped to 29 from 127 in 1991, leaving Japan's largest bourse under pressure to secure new revenue sources.

It hopes to find those sources in China, where many State companies are being privatized and economic growth is surging, as well as in the rest of Asia.

"Japanese investors are showing strong interest in Asian stocks, especially those of South Korea and China," Yasuo Sakuragi, head of new listing services department at the TSE, said.

"There are also companies in these countries thinking that a Tokyo listing would better match their needs than a local listing... so the potential is very big."

The TSE currently has only one listed Chinese firm, Xinhua Finance Ltd., partially owned by a group firm of China's Xinhua.

Xinhua Finance became the first Chinese company in last October to list in Tokyo with a 5.53 billion yen (US$51.08 million) offering.

Betting that China��s privatization efforts will create more companies wanting to list shares, the TSE has already approached institutions such as State-owned banks that are seen as interested in going public after privatization.

The bourse was also talking with Chinese Government organizations, including the State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council and the China Securities Regulatory Commision to seek government backing, Sakuragi said.

"Initial public offerings related to China��s privatization efforts are major target, but dual-listing of Chinese red chips and H shares is also a target," said Sakuragi.

To put its case across, the TSE plans to hold three seminars this business year in China, in Shandong Province and Beijing, in cooperation with lawyers, venture capitalists and accounting firms.

Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies