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Ⅰ. Purpose of the Survey
The Government Pension Investment Fund, Japan (GPIF) conducted our first survey to JPX Nikkei Index 400 companies to evaluate stewardship activities of our external asset managers and to grasp real situation of constructive dialogues. As we stated in “Summary Report of GPIF’s Stewardship Activities in 2015” dated of 29th January 2016, it is our intention to raise the standard of dialogues between institutional investors and Japanese companies.
”Late last week, Mr. Terry Gou, the CEO of Foxconn Technology Group (also known as Honhai) signed a JPY389bn deal to take control of Sharp, one of Japan’s bedrock electronics firms. The signing came after a protracted cat-and-mouse game played between Mr. Gou, the management of Sharp, and in the wings, the public-private INCJ fund. Mr. Gou showed consummate deal sense in luring Sharp’s board with a much more attractive offer than the government’s INCJ (which wanted to break up the firm) then drag out the negotiations as Sharp was facing a possible collapse. Lastly, with impeccable timing he sprang a last minute demand to reduce the deal price by 20% and completely out-maneuvered, Sharp’s executives and shareholders, who eventually caved in and agreed.
”TAIPEI, taiwan — The Taiwanese company that assembles Apple’s iPhones agreed Wednesday to buy control of financially struggling Sharp Corp. for $3.5 billion in the first foreign takeover of a major Japanese electronics producer.
Should more attention be paid to corporate governance issues? ”Over the past few years, institutional investors have held boards increasingly accountable for company performance and have demanded greater transparency and engagement with directors. Investors’ interest in more disclosure and interaction arises from their desire for improved performance, both on the part of boards and in […]
”Public companies are beholden to align long-term interests of executive officers with those of their shareholders, and this balance often manifests in how executives are paid in relation to company performance. Many companies address this through use of equity packages, but because executives can still sell or hedge these shares, their incentives to make long-term decisions for the company are not always clear. To avoid this, many companies implement stock ownership guidelines, requiring executives to own a certain amount of equity in the company.
Tamotsu Adachi, managing director of Japan at Carlyle Group. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
”Carlyle Group LP, which has made two acquisitions in Japan so far in 2016, said it plans to add another one or two deals there this year as companies get serious about boosting their profits.
”Abstract – A corporate governance system consists of a set of mechanisms which restrict managerial discretion. The constraints on managerial discretion in the Anglo-Saxon environment, considered as a benchmark, are usually described as being primarily driven by shareholder interests, whereas the French and Japanese systems are traditionally thought of as more stakeholder oriented. However, the increasing share of international ownership has had a significant impact on corporate governance in both countries over the last two decade
”TOKYO —In recent years, “social entrepreneurship,” “social innovation” and “sustainability” have found their way into the mainstream conference last September at Waseda University under the theme “Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Innovation.”
”The Council of Experts Concerning the Japanese Version of the Stewardship Code (Chairman: Professor Hiroyuki Kansaku, The University of Tokyo) published the Principles for Institutional Investors (Japan’s Stewardship Code) in February 27, 2014. The Council requested the FSA to publish and periodically update the list of institutional investors who announced their acceptance of the Code.
Representatives from the securities industry and the capital markets in the US and Japan discussed the progress and issues that lie ahead.
