Japan to further ease rules on foreign ownership of stocks – Reuters

Citing Japanese government sources, Reuters reports that the government is likely to scale back restrictions on foreign ownership of stocks, in a bid to retain overseas capital in the country.

Key points

Will add exemptions to new foreign investment restrictions for companies exposed to sensitive national security issues.

The exemptions will benefit foreign hedge funds and wealth asset managers, which own or invest heavily in Japanese shares and help underpin Tokyo's stock market.

the government now plans to widen these exemptions to include foreign investors in the 12 sectors if they agree to certain conditions.

Key Japanese official to meet at 0830 GMT

Separately, Reuters reported that senior officials from the Japanese Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and the Financial Services Agency (FSA) will meet later today at 0830 GMT to exchange views on global financial market conditions.

USD/JPY keeps its range play around 110.80 in early Europe, having failed to sustain the bounce above 111.00 amid losses in the Asian equities amid looming coronavirus concerns. However, the downside appears cushioned amid a bounce in S&P 500 futures and Treasury yields.