Tokyo FinTech Association

Credit Saison Co., Ltd. reported on the company’s performance for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025 (FY2024). The key highlights of the results briefing included an update on the progress of the new medium-term management plan, the strong start to the plan with steadily improving earnings power and upward revisions to earnings forecasts, and a detailed discussion of the financial results digest for the second quarter of FY2024. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG https://lnkd.in/gdFvZUzx

Global Infrastructure Management and SMFL Mirai Partners, a strategic subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company, Limited, have jointly established the “Global Infrastructure Management Income Fund №2” on September 1, 2024, and have now completed their first investments through the acquisition of non-voting shares of Sendai International Airport Co,. Ltd, which operates Sendai Airport (the first privatized national airport), and completion of an anonymous partnership investment in a solar power plant portfolio. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG https://lnkd.in/gSz538EE

English translation released! The CBDC Forum held its third general meeting on October 17, 2024. The Bank of Japan explained about the system under development for the pilot program and provided updates on progress made by different working groups. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here:  https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG

MUFG Bank is making a tender offer for all outstanding shares and stock acquisition rights of WealthNavi Inc., a publicly traded robo-advisor company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market. The tender offer price of JPY 1,950 per share of common stock is almost twice the closing price from Thursday, however, still well below the 52-week high of JPY 2,500 set in March. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG https://lnkd.in/gE576K4i

MUFG and MUFG Bank are entering into an agreement to sell a 25% stake of Home Credit Philippines HC Consumer Finance Philippines (HCPH) to Security Bank Corporation, MUFG’s equity-method affiliate commercial bank in the Philippines. The transaction value is expected to be approximately JPY26.5 billion. Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited (Krungsri), MUFG’s consolidated subsidiary commercial bank in the Kingdom of Thailand, will continue to hold a 75% ownership stake in HCPH. MUFG will remain the ultimate parent company of HCPH, having 20% ownership of Security Bank and 76.88% of Krungsri. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, with target closing in the first quarter of 2025. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG https://lnkd.in/gMJrdggi

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has also documented case studies of Standard Market-listed companies’ measures investors deemed as fulfilling the expectations they have for corporations. These case studies are intended for listed companies that are considering taking action to implement management that is conscious of cost of capital and stock price, and also as a reference for future updates for listed companies that have already made disclosures. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has documented case studies of Prime Market-listed companies’ measures investors deemed as fulfilling the expectations they have for corporations. These case studies are intended for listed companies that are considering taking action to implement management that is conscious of cost of capital and stock price, and also as a reference for future updates for listed companies that have already made disclosures. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is considering making a push into a new area for the lender in India focusing on private equity and venture capital firms, seeking to tap some of the most prolific dealmakers in the country. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/guM_iWpH

Joichi Ito, President of Chiba Technical University and co-founder of Digital Garage, Inc., and Russell Cummer, Founder and former Chairman of Paidy (Japan’s leading BNPL service), have jointly launched AltX Research KK to develop Japan Smart Chain (JSC), a Japan-sovereign, Ethereum blockchain optimised for Japanese regulations. Japan Smart Chain aims to solve key regulatory and consumer protection challenges for digital transactions, unlocking sizable efficiencies for Japan-based companies, consumers, and innovators. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG https://lnkd.in/gDzX748B

“Japan’s Digital Shinkansen” Japan Smart Chain (JSC) is an Ethereum Equivalent Layer 1 (L1) blockchain, validated onshore in Japan by Japanese industrial leaders, and optimized for Japanese regulations and consumer protections. JSC is explicitly designed to avoid exposure to foreign regulations or undue outside inuence. In addition to being protected from outside inuences, JSC is committed to streamlining the Japanese blockchain ecosystem and overall customer experience by focusing on consumer pain points in the application layer that can be better addressed at the L1. JSC's primary target areas are those processes that are expensive, cause customer inconvenience, or are repetitive across applications. Initially, JSC is aiming to minimize the burden of eKYC in the application layer for digital payments, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and other regulated on-chain use cases. JSC will continuously look for other areas where efficiencies and consumer delight can be unlocked. Just as the Shinkansen leveraged the existing paradigm of rail travel with exceptional speed and world-class service, JSC augments the Ethereum blockchain technology with embedded digital protocols to ensure JSC users can transact both safely and legally at costs unparalleled by existing services. 👉 Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the "Japan FinTech Observer", here: https://lnkd.in/gNjUuSxG