Stories
Stories
Tatsuyuki Saeki: Putting Stock in New Options at Nasdaq Japan
After 35 years with IBM, Tatsuyuki Saeki could have chosen to put his feet up and relax — perhaps after a few rounds of golf. But that just isn’t Ted Saeki’s style. Instead, the feisty 60-year-old veteran executive has started a second career as president and CEO of Nasdaq Japan, Inc., an offshoot of the wildly successful American technology stock market. Launched last year as a joint venture between the U.S. Nasdaq, Japan’s Softbank Corporation, and thirteen leading Japanese and foreign brokerages, Nasdaq Japan aims to break the stranglehold of the dominant financial market in Tokyo by providing new opportunities for Japanese investors and wider access to equity capital for emerging Japanese companies.
In short, Saeki is challenging the old-boy network and forcing Japan’s button-down business culture to change. “My real purpose is not to harm or destroy the securities industry in this country but to encourage it to be more competitive,” he explains. What Saeki is bringing to Japan is Nasdaq’s emphasis on good governance and transparency. “We force issuers to disclose accurate information quarterly,” he explains. Many established corporations have been lukewarm to Saeki’s message, but some young entrepreneurs are picking up on it — Nasdaq Japan listed forty companies last year.
With only 10 percent of private investors participating in the securities market, Saeki sees enormous room for growth. “This country still has a lot of traditional rules” that discourage individuals from buying stocks, he notes. Minimum prices for shares, for example, put equities out of the reach of many. But by convincing the government to liberalize regulations, Saeki hopes to win public confidence and pull in more players. The Internet, which allows investors greater access to corporate information and forces companies to be more open, will help.
Still, Saeki knows he has his work cut out for him. “Nasdaq has been very successful in the United States and is now eyeing global trading,” he notes. “It’s a great strategy that will fly. But changing the securities industry in Japan and negotiating with the government here is a nightmare.” So much for a peaceful retirement.
Post a Comment
Related Stories
-
- 22 Feb 2022
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Q&A: The Post-Pandemic Path
Re: Robin Greenwood (George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research); Adi Sunderam (Willard Prescott Smith Professor of Corporate Finance); By: April White -
- 16 Feb 2017
- Finance Magnates
Saudi Stock Exchange Picks First Female Chair
Re: Sarah AlSuhaimi (GMP 19) -
- 01 Dec 2015
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Complements to the Case Method
Re: Namrata Singhal (MBA 2013); Lauren H. Cohen (L.E. Simmons Professor of Business Administration); Ramon Casadesus-Masanell (Herman C. Krannert Professor of Business Administration Unit Head, Strategy) -
- 10 Jun 2015
- HBS Working Knowledge
The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting
Re: George Serafeim (Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration)