Japanese government to stop selling bank stakes: report
The Japanese government and central bank are to stop selling their two-trillion-yen (20-billion-dollar) stake in domestic banks to avoid putting further pressure on finance stocks.
By Agencies |
TOKYO: The Japanese government and central bank are to stop selling their two-trillion-yen (20-billion-dollar) stake in domestic banks to avoid putting further pressure on finance stocks, a report said on Monday.
The government and the Bank of Japan bought 3.6 trillion yen worth of stock in major domestic banks between 2002 and 2006, when the world's second-largest economy was struggling with the effects of the 1990s asset bubble.
They started selling their stakes in 2006, but faced with recent market turbulence, are to stop offloading the stock to avoid further downward pressure on banking prices, the business daily Nikkei reported, without citing sources.
As of March 31, their positions were down to around 500 billion yen for the government and roughly 1.4 trillion yen for the central bank, it said.
Japan's Nikkei stock index last week experienced the worst week in its 50-year history, plunging 24.33 per cent to 8,276.43. The market was closed Monday for a public holiday.
The government and the Bank of Japan bought 3.6 trillion yen worth of stock in major domestic banks between 2002 and 2006, when the world's second-largest economy was struggling with the effects of the 1990s asset bubble.
They started selling their stakes in 2006, but faced with recent market turbulence, are to stop offloading the stock to avoid further downward pressure on banking prices, the business daily Nikkei reported, without citing sources.
As of March 31, their positions were down to around 500 billion yen for the government and roughly 1.4 trillion yen for the central bank, it said.
Japan's Nikkei stock index last week experienced the worst week in its 50-year history, plunging 24.33 per cent to 8,276.43. The market was closed Monday for a public holiday.
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