Bullet train operator's IPO appeal boosted by Japanese real estate

Tokyo

JAPAN's bullet train operators are finding it also pays to run hotels, shops, restaurants and own real estate. A planned 392 billion yen (S$5.3 billion) sale of Kyushu Railway Co, also known as JR Kyushu, by the government in an initial public offering (IPO) may draw investor interest for its property and other businesses, more than its rail service, according to Mitsushige Akino, an executive officer at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co.

JR Kyushu, a train operator in Japan's third-largest island, gets most of its profit from its station and real-estate businesses that include hotels and shopping centres, while non-transportation services account for about half its sales. Record arrivals of tourists from abroad is spurring demand for the establishments run by the railway, based in Fukuoka City, about 890 kilometres southwest of Tokyo. The privatisation is set to unshackle it from government controls.