Japan securities watchdog seeking tougher checks on IPOs – report

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) – The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) asked the Financial Services Agency to create rules requiring brokerages underwriting initial public offerings to rigorously check the earnings projections of the listing firms, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.The SESC decided that legislation is needed to protect investors in light of recent cases in which start-ups that have listed through lenient screenings have suddenly logged poor earnings, the paper said in its online edition.The Securities and Exchange Law currently lacks clear rules on such screenings by brokerages, it said.The FSA hopes to include the new rules in a ministerial ordinance for the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, which takes effect this summer, the report added./net