Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. said Tuesday it will pull out of Japan's retail securities market and shut down its Japanese unit because it does not foresee it becoming profitable in the future.
Morgan Stanley Nippon Securities Ltd. stopped soliciting new customers Tuesday, but will continue maintenance services for existing customers until the transfer of their accounts to other companies is complete, it said.
Other Japanese units, including Morgan Stanley Japan Ltd., which provides securities services for corporate customers, will continue operations, the U.S. brokerage house said.
The Japanese retail securities unit was launched in January this year in central Tokyo with about 100 employees.
The decision by the U.S. parent firm to shut it down is partly due to its low business performance and also to the dim prospects for Japan's depressed stock market.
Merrill Lynch & Co., the only foreign brokerage house that offers full-scale retail securities service in Japan, is also reviewing its retail securities operations.