The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is actively engaged with a pipeline of Japanese companies, some of which may consider a US listing over the next 18 months, according to the bourse’s vice chairman.

Some of these companies are in the technology and healthcare sectors, vice chairman John Tuttle said in an interview in Tokyo. They are at different stages of growth, and some are “quite sizeable” and expanding quickly, he said, without providing further details.

Global funds have turned optimistic about Japanese stocks over the past year, on expectation shareholder returns will improve. A weaker yen also helped boost exporter shares, though that has shaved off US dollar-based returns. Even with the booming market, Japanese start-ups have been turning to the US where institutional investors are more willing to bet on innovative technologies.

While Japan’s local markets can meet companies’ needs for capital, the US is attracting “those companies that want access to the broadest pool of institutional investors, those that want that US-dollar denominated share currency”, he said. 

It’s not just Japanese companies looking to list in the US, Tuttle said. There are “exciting companies” from South Korea, Indonesia and Singapore from across various sectors, he said.

  - Bloomberg