Author: Admin

APEC Report: Corporate Governance Plus Market Development

2018-01-07 posted by

In 2016,  Europacifica Consulting delivered the case study, Financial Services Sector Reform in Japan, for inclusion in the APEC Economic Policy Report, published in November 2016.

In the case study, we argued that corporate governance was a vital area of potential structural reform in PM Abe’s economic agenda, which at the time had yet to show clear results.  Since then, there have been clear signals of improvement in corporate Japan’s balance sheets and governance practices, as well as a rise in Return on Equity among many of Japan’s largest companies.

Signals of bona fide structural reform are comforting, but we underscore the importance of another of the report’s key arguments; that Koizumi-era reforms in the financial sector did not go far enough in engendering self-sustaining financial market reforms.  Both financial reform and investor education may go further to promote households’ move “from savings to investment”, in other words, a move toward greater household participation in financial markets.

The case study may be found in Annex A of the report.  The case study was also prepublished by Columbia University’s APEC Studies Center as well (link to report).

Read More

Ministry of the Environment: January2017 ESG Working Group Report

2017-12-04 posted by

” With the recent developments in ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) in our country, the Ministry of the Environment established a “Working Group on Incorporating Issues Regarding Sustainability into Investment” (ESG Working Group) in October 2015. Following discussion and debate over two fiscal years, the Ministry is pleased to announce that it has produced the […]

Read More

The Economist: “Environmental, societal, and…what? The craze for ethical investment has reached Japan”

2017-11-29 posted by

The Economist has published two articles on ESG, one focusing on its expansion in Japan led by the GPIF and the other focusing on the impact of passive funds on the effectiveness of ESG investment overall. I was [accurately] quoted in the former – ” Nick Benes, who heads the Board Director Training Institute of Japan, an educational body, says he is “all for” the enthusiasm for ESG in Japan. But he frets that Japanese companies are focusing on environmental and social aspects at the expense of governance. “That is the real driver of sustainability,” says Mr Benes. “But here it’s a big, bold E and S, and a small, plain G.”

Read More

October 26th Director Boot Camp – Another Successful Program! Next Course: January 25th, 2018

2017-10-31 posted by

  On October 26th, BDTI held its English Director Boot Camp , attended by a number of experienced participants. Participants from various companies heard lectures about corporate governance and related topics by Nicholas Benes and Andrew Silberman of AMT, and exchanged experiences and opinions at a spacious, comfortable room kindly donated for our use by […]

Read More

“Corporate Governance of Japan – Analysis and Prospects -” at BDTI Seminar held on October 2 2017

2017-10-12 posted by

“Corporate Governance of Japan – Analysis and Prospects –” was presented at BDTI Seminar held on October 2 2017 “Corporate Governance of Japan – Analysis and Prospects -” was presented at BDT Seminar held on October 2 2017 as the update research of Corporate Governance of Japan at the BDTI Seminar in March and Goldman Sachs Securities Seminar in April 2017. The updated […]

Read More

September CG Stock Performance

2017-10-07 posted by

CG Top 20 stocks raised its outperformance, hitting all-time high Top 20 CG Score Index continued outperformance for September 2017 in favor of stock market rally for September. CG top 20 stocks hit its all time high of June 2015 when Corporate Governance Code was launched. This would be due to a sign that an increasing number of long-term investors are coming […]

Read More

“A New Dawn for Japanese Governance” by Frank Curtiss

2017-09-22 posted by

Steady progress is indeed being made as a result of the efforts being made to improve corporate governance in Japan now that remarkable changes are  observed.  “Japan is the land of the rising sun, but as far as corporate governance is concerned, it has been more a land of false dawns over the past 15 years or so. However, some significant […]

Read More

Paul Hastings: “In-House Counsel Guide to Ransomware Prevention, Preparedness, and Response”

2017-09-19 posted by

 

“Ransomware is a variant of cyber-attack in which the perpetrators encrypt an organization’s data and then demand a monetary payment for the decryption key, usually in the form of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Ransomware is most frequently delivered through phishing emails that corporate employees click through, introducing the ransomware onto the corporate network. By rendering critical data and systems inaccessible, ransomware can have severe operational consequences and can bring the business of even multinational companies to a halt.

Read More

Cross-Shareholdings: “Enjoying the Quiet Life: Corporate Decision-Making by Entrenched Managers”

2017-09-13 posted by

This excellent working paper by Naoshi Ikeda, Kotaro Inoue and Sho Watanabe describes their research that leads to the conclusion (similar to BDTI’s own research) that cross-shareholdings in Japan negatively impact risk-taking, investment for growth, and the frequency of restructuring activities.  Conversely, when managers are monitored more heavily by investors and independent directors, they are positively affected.

Read More