【英语中国】中国股市吸引力渐增 东京证交所日子难过

With the Japanese stock market at 16-month lows, foreign investors fleeing the market and the strong yen hurting leading exporters, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is fighting to remain relevant and compete with Asian rivals, especially those in China.

Having seen declines in sales and losses on the bottom line for the past two years, the bourse is poised to again delay its plan to go public. The exchange is facing falling trade volume, and public listings in 2010 have trailed rivals in Hong Kong and China.

Chief Executive and President Atsushi Saito, 70 years old, says now is the time to work with the government toward the same goal: to fend off competition from Asian markets. Mr. Saito, who spent the bulk of his career with Nomura Securities, met with The Wall Street Journal at the TSE's office to share how he is aggressively trying to attract more investors to Japan. The following interview was edited.

WSJ: Do you think China is a menace to the Tokyo market?

Mr. Saito: I don't think the Shanghai market is particularly a menace to the Tokyo market, but I think the Hong Kong market may be in terms of how successful its IPO market is.

WSJ: What can the exchange do to invite more foreign companies into the Japanese market?

Mr. Saito: There are limited things the exchange can do alone to make the market an attractive place to invest. The government needs to lower corporate tax to some extent. Singapore and Hong Kong's tax and regulatory environments are more attractive to foreign investors.

WSJ: Do you think the TSE's listing rule is too stringent?

Mr. Saito: I don't think it's too strict. There is room to make companies go public more smoothly, and we would like to consider that, but a strict rule could benefit a listed company, too. Companies that passed our guideline also earned credibility.

WSJ: There's been talk about scrapping the TSE's lunchtime break. What are your thoughts?

Mr. Saito: Some brokerages think it's costly as they need to increase staffers, while others want to stay open . . . to attract investors who want to trade Japan stocks when other Asian markets are open. We need to continue having a dialogue.

WSJ: With the Nikkei Stock Average falling below 9000 and the exchange's earnings struggling, do you think it's a good idea to go public this fiscal year?

Mr. Saito: I think there is no point going public as long as we keep posting declines in sales and profits. We are not ruling out the possibility to be listed this fiscal year, but we are probably not going to.

WSJ: You have wanted to make Tokyo the financial hub of Asia. Is it realistic?

Mr. Saito: We have many challenges. Last December, we decided to require listed companies to have at least one independent board director or independent auditor to improve corporate governance. We also launched a faster trading platform. But we wouldn't be able to be the Asian hub without attracting investors and cooperation from the government.

于日本股市跌至16个月低点，外国投资者纷纷逃离该市场，而且日圆走强打压了主要出口企业，东京证交所正在努力维持地位，并与亚洲对手展开竞争，尤其是中国的竞争对手。

过去两年东京证交所营收下降并出现亏损，该证交所料将再次推迟上市计划。东京证交所面临交易量下降的困境，2010年在这里公开上市的企业数量少于香港和中国内地证交所。

今年70岁的东京证交所首席执行长兼总裁齐藤敦（Atsushi Saito）说，现在是时候与政府合作朝同一目标迈进了，这一目标是：抵御亚洲市场的竞争。齐藤敦职业生涯的大部分时间是在野村证券（Nomura Securities）度过的。他在东京证交所办公室会见了《华尔街日报》记者，分享了他是如何努力吸引更多投资者到日本的。以下是经过编辑的采访内容。

《华尔街日报》：你认为中国对东京证交所构成威胁吗？

齐藤敦：我认为上海证交所没有特别对东京证交所构成威胁；但香港联交所在首次公开募股（IPO）市场取得了巨大成功，我认为它可能是一个威胁。

《华尔街日报》：证交所可以做些什么，吸引更多外国企业到日本股市？

齐藤敦：证交所单方面能做的非常有限，难以使证交所成为吸引投资的地方。政府需要在一定程度上降低企业税，新加坡和香港的税收和监管环境对于外国投资者来说更有吸引力。

《华尔街日报》：你认为东京证交所的上市规则太严格了吗？

齐藤敦：我认为规则不是太过严格。还有空间使企业更顺利地公开上市，我们会对此加以考虑，但严格的规则也会使上市企业受益，通过我们上市规则筛选的企业也获得了公信力。

《华尔街日报》：有传言说东京证交所将取消午休，你怎么看这事？

齐藤敦：一些券商因此需要增加人手，他们认为这代价太高，而其他券商希望中午不休息，……以吸引那些在亚洲其他市场交易时段希望买卖日本股票的投资者，我们还要进行谈论。

《华尔街日报》：日经平均指数将要跌破9,000点，而且东京证交所的盈利不太好，你认为东京证交所本财政年度公开上市好吗？

齐藤敦：我认为只要我们的营收和获利持续下跌，那么公开上市就没有意义。我们不排除本财政年度上市的可能性，但我们可能不会这样做。

《华尔街日报》：你曾希望使东京成为亚洲金融中心，这现实吗？

齐藤敦：我们面临着许多挑战。去年12月，我们决定要求上市公司至少有一位独立董事或独立审计机构，以改善企业监管。我们还推出了快速交易平台。但如果不能吸引投资者，或者没有政府的合作，我们就不能成为亚洲金融中心。