New listings on the Tokyo Stock Exchange may rise tenfold to as many as 100 in 2010 as an increasing number of technology companies seek capital, according to Atsushi Saito, president of the bourse.
"We can expect between 50 and 100," Saito said in an interview Monday. "We will see more emerging new companies with very unique technology, so they will naturally look for capital."
Saito's forecast follows a slump this year when funds raised by Japanese companies through initial public offerings dropped to a 30th of the peak set nine years ago amid declining share prices and a weak economy.
The Topix, which closed at 914.78 on Monday, may climb to as high as 1,200 by the end of 2010, according to Seiichiro Iwasawa, Nomura Holding Inc.'s chief strategist.
After shrinking for four consecutive quarters, the economy emerged from recession in the three-month period ended June 30, overcoming the financial crisis earlier than the U.S. and Europe.
There were 10 initial public offerings on the TSE in 2009, according to data from T&C Financial Research Inc., while 19 companies listed on exchanges across the nation during the year.
Cookpad Inc., a recipe Web site operator and C'Bon Cosmetics Co., a maker of skin care products, are among companies that listed in the past year. Japan Drilling Co., an offshore drilling contractor with a market value of ¥111 billion, was the largest company to list in the country this year.
Saito said exchanges in New York and London have also had a difficult time in 2009. Meatpacker National Beef Inc. became the seventh U.S. company to postpone an initial public offering this quarter, as of Dec. 17. Global investors are demanding better terms or rejecting sales with buyers sitting on losses in more than half the IPOs during the second half of 2009, data compiled by Barclays PLC show.