Japan Post Bank eyes US$16b shift into stocks

Tokyo

JAPAN Post Bank Co, whose debut as a public company will prompt increased scrutiny of its investment returns, will take a cautious approach as it shifts some of its 207 trillion yen (S$2.39 trillion) asset portfolio away from government bonds. That could still lead to about US$16 billion flowing into equities.

The bank may boost its allocation of shares by "a little", president Masatsugu Nagato said in an interview in Tokyo, estimating that equity investments could be raised to about two trillion yen from just 900 million yen now. Japan Post Bank is also considering allocating money to alternative investments such as private equity and US real estate investment trusts, he said.