Japanese listed companies launched 16.2 trillion yen in buybacks in the January-May period, up 34% year over year and a record for the period, driven by cross-shareholding unwinding and capital reforms, Nikkei Asia reported Monday, citing its own analysis.
Although the number of companies initiating programs fell 14% to about 620, large-scale repurchases inflated the total value, which reached 16.4 trillion yen as of Friday, the news daily said.
Major players like Sony Group (TYO:6758) and Hitachi (TYO:6501) each unveiled 500 billion yen buybacks amid record profit projections, while Daikin Industries (TYO:6367) repurchased 350 billion yen, the publication said.
KDDI (TYO:9433) also executed a 300 billion yen buyback, with 250 billion yen through a tender offer to acquire shares from Toyota (TYO:9433) and Kyocera (TYO:6971), who sought to offload their cross-holdings, the report said.
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