Japans Line, Nomura Launch Zero-commission Online Brokerage Venture

A neon sign is displayed inside Line Corp.'s research and development facility in Kyoto, Japan. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Line Corp. and Nomura Holdings Inc. said they launched an online brokerage venture which will charge zero commissions for trading in Japanese shares.

Instead, Line Securities Corp. will make money from the bid/ask spreads on the trades, the venture’s Co-Chief Executive Officer Yoshikazu Yonenaga said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Line, Japan’s most popular messaging platform, is betting that backing from Nomura will help it diversify into the online brokerage business and monetize its 81 million domestic subscribers, as well as reduce reliance on advertising. Nomura is looking to the venture to attract younger, digital-savvy clients.

The new venture will offer trading in major Japanese firms such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc., according to a statement.

Japanese retail investors are turning increasingly to online brokerages to trade stocks, eroding the market share of traditional face-to-face brokers such as Nomura and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Nomura already has an online service with about 3.5 million customer accounts, but Chief Executive Officer Koji Nagai called the offering “uncool” in an interview late last year and said the firm needs to take more steps to make it attractive to younger people.

Bloomberg 

RECENT NEWS

Indian Food Delivery Unicorn Zomato Likely To File For IPO Next Month

Food delivery unicorn Zomato is planning to file for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by April which could raise $65... Read more

Vietnams Bamboo Airways Aims Third-quarter Listing With Market Cap Of $2.73b

Vietnam’s startup Bamboo Airways said on Friday it aimed to list its shares on a local stock exchange in the thi... Read more

Didi Chuxing Advances IPO Plans To Next Quarter, Targets $62b Valuation

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing Technology Co. is accelerating plans for an initial public offering to as early... Read more

Warburg-backed Kalyan Jewellers IPO Loses Shine, Sees Tepid Demand

Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd’s initial public offering was oversubscribed by just 1.28 times on Thursday, a sign of tep... Read more

Chinese E-commerce Platform DMall Hires Banks For Over $500m US IPO

Chinese e-commerce platform Dmall (Beijing) E-commerce Co has hired Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan for a... Read more

Tencent-backed Chinese Software Firm Tuya Eyes $915m In US IPO

Tuya Inc., a software company backed by New Enterprise Associates and Tencent Holdings Ltd., is on track to raise $915 ... Read more