新湖畔网 （随信APP) | 东京地铁在首次上市时股价飙升

东京地铁的上市将政府持有股份减少到大约50％，分别为国家和东京市 - 版权AFP Richard A. Brooks

作者：Simon STURDEE，Kyoko HASEGAWA

世界上最繁忙的地铁之一东京地铁的股票周三上市后暴涨近50％，在六年来日本最大的首次公开募股中，其政府所有者筹集了23亿美元。

每天约有650万人乘坐东京地铁的九条线路，比伦敦地铁还要多，这是为首都及周边庞大郊区服务的广阔交通网络的一部分。

公司股价一度涨至1739日元，比发行价1200日元上涨47％。

这项3486亿日元的收益将偿还2011年东北地区地震、海啸和核灾难后发行的重建债券，导致1.8万人丧生。

这次上市将政府所有权减少到大约50％，分别属于国家和东京市。许多日本铁路运营商已经私有化。

为吸引投资者，购买超过200股的待遇包括到东京地铁博物馆和高尔夫球场的门票，以及其面条店免费提供天妇罗配料。

报道称，此次发行在投资者中超额认购了15倍。

这是自2018年大亨孙正义的科技和电信集团软银集团通过上市其移动部门创下235亿美元的国家纪录以来，日本最大的IPO。

伦敦建立了第一个公共地下铁路，但1927年东京成为第一个拥有地铁的亚洲城市。

如今，东京政府单独运营另外四条地铁线路，与东日本铁路的高架路线（如环状山手线）以及其他私人服务并驾齐驱。

– ‘低波动性’ –

分析师表示，公司强劲的盈利和稳定的业务 - 由于东京受日本人口危机的影响较少 - 高股息率吸引了投资者。截至2025年3月，预计每股将支付40日元。

东京地铁截至2024年3月结束的财政年度实现了460亿日元的净利润，比去年同期增长了67％。今年其目标是将此增加到520亿日元。

公司的惊人表现引发了关于政府为何没有尝试在IPO中获得更高价格的问题。

但东京证券策略师佐藤诗织告诉AFP说， “第一次上市价格高于首次公开募股价格相当常见，特别是在日本，因为发行价格是以盈利为基础的，但这并不包括投资者的期望”。

Bloomberg新闻报道称，今年上市的日本公司股价平均上涨了34％，招商证券报道。

早在上市前，早稻田大学商学教授宫岛秀明表示，东京地铁的“低波动性”使其成为普通日本投资者家庭一个安全的前景。

“对于机构投资者来说，鉴于日元的汇率非常低及最近的企业治理改革，日本市场非常有利”，他补充道。

上市前的东京地铁是在周日举行的日本选举之前，民意调查显示首相石原慎太郎领导的自由民主党可能首次自2009年以来未获多数席位。

作为全球第四大经济体，日本一直在努力取得进展，而人口减少意味着许多行业的企业难以填补职位空缺。

国际货币基金组织周二将日本2024年的增长预测削减至0.3％，但预计明年将增长1.1％。

Tokyo Metro's listing reduces government ownership, split between the nation and Tokyo city, to around 50 percent - Copyright AFP Richard A. Brooks

Simon STURDEE, Kyoko HASEGAWA

Shares in Tokyo Metro, one of the world’s busiest subways, soared almost 50 percent on its debut Wednesday after its government owners raised $2.3 billion in Japan’s biggest initial public offering in six years.

Each day around 6.5 million people — more than the London Underground — ride Tokyo Metro’s nine lines, part of a vast transport network serving the capital and its sprawling suburbs.

The company’s shares surged to 1,739 yen, 47 percent up from their issue price of 1,200 yen.

The 348.6 billion yen proceeds will redeem reconstruction bonds issued after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in northeast Japan that killed 18,000 people.

The listing reduces government ownership, split between the nation and Tokyo city, to around 50 percent. Many Japanese rail operators are already privatized.

To attract investors, perks for buying more than 200 shares included tickets to the Tokyo Metro museum and golf range, as well as free tempura toppings at its noodle stands.

Reports said the issue was 15 times oversubscribed among investors.

The IPO is Japan’s largest since tycoon Masayoshi Son’s tech and telecoms conglomerate SoftBank Group raised a national record of $23.5 billion by listing its mobile unit in 2018.

London built the first public underground railway, but in 1927 Tokyo became the first Asian city with a subway.

These days, four other subway lines are run separately by the Tokyo government, alongside East Japan Railway’s overground routes such as the circular Yamanote Line, and other private services.

– ‘Low volatility’ –

Analysts said the firm’s strong profits and stable business — with Tokyo less affected by Japan’s demographic crisis — and high dividend yield attracted investors. In the year to March 2025, it expects to pay 40 yen per share.

Tokyo Metro posted a net profit of 46 billion yen for the fiscal year that ended in March 2024, up 67 percent from a year earlier. This year it is aiming to increase this to 52 billion yen.

The firm’s spectacular debut raised questions about why the government did not try and secure a higher price at the IPO.

But Shiki Sato, strategist of Tokyo Securities, told AFP it is “quite common that the first price goes higher than the initial public offering price, especially in Japan, as the offering price is based on earnings but that does not include investors’ expectations”.

The share price of Japanese companies that have gone public this year has risen 34 percent on average, Bloomberg News reported, citing Ichiyoshi Securities.

The “low volatility” of Tokyo Metro makes its shares a safe prospect for ordinary Japanese investor households, Hideaki Miyajima, a professor in commerce at Waseda University, said before the IPO.

“And for institutional investors, the Japanese market is very favorable given the very low exchange rate” of the yen and recent corporate governance reforms, he added.

The listing comes ahead of elections in Japan on Sunday with polls suggesting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party might fall short of a majority for the first time since 2009.

The world’s fourth-largest economy has been struggling to gain traction while a falling population means firms in many sectors are having trouble filling vacancies.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its 2024 growth forecast for Japan to 0.3 percent but projected it would expand 1.1 percent next year.