JIN-289 -- Slip Slidin' Away? Tokyo Star's IPO Opportunities

================================================
J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:

T H E J @ P A N I N C N E W S L E T T E R

Commentary on the Week's Business, Technology and Cultural News
===============================================
Issue No. 289
Friday, September 17, 2004
TOKYO

Subscribe for FREE:
http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/index.html?list=jin

CONTENTS

@@ VIEWPOINT: Slip Slidin' Away? Tokyo Star's IPO Opportunities

====== JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test ===
<>
Seeking a jobs or hoping to advance your career in a Japanese company?
Looking for your next goal in your quest for Japanese proficiency? Do
you know how well you communicate in Japanese in a business setting?

The JETRO Test is designed to objectively measure and evaluate your
ability to communicate in a variety of business situations.
Applications are now being accepted for the next JETRO Test this
November 28th.

For more information, please visit http://www.jetro.go.jp/jetrotest/,
and register today! Or e-mail us at nihongo@jetro.go.jp

============================================
=============== NEWS =====================
FREE Japan Daily Business Briefs from Nikkei
Stay in touch with the latest news on the industries and
topics of interest to you with News by E-mail.
* Over 60 categories to choose from.
* Daily delivery to your inbox.
* Available in regular and mobile e-mail formats.
Register for your free News by E-mail account today:
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/FR/PN/PR/

==========================================

@@ VIEWPOINT: Slip Slidin' Away? Tokyo Star's IPO Opportunities

We've long kept an eye on Tokyo Star Bank. Recent reports that it is
moving closer to an IPO do not surprise us at all.

The rumors have been filling the airwaves for some time, and the
company's management has never made much secret of its plan to use
a market listing as the exit strategy for its investors.

We were first impressed by the bank last summer (2003), when it
appointed American Todd Budge to run the show and take on the grim
challenge of nursing a perilously ill bank back to a semblance
of good health. (See JIN #229:
http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/index.html?list=jin&issue=229).
As his own publicity machine endlessly pointed out, Budge was both
the youngest ever chief executive of a Japanese bank -- and the first
foreign CEO.

By all accounts, the likeable Budge has lived up to his PR billing.
Given the often tawdry Japanese banking industry, Budge has emerged
as a very sleek niche player, offering plenty of lessons to his
competitors.

Tokyo Star, which is ultimately owned by the US private equity group
Lonestar Funds, is nothing like the basket case it once was. Budge has
kept the operation lean, and steered it towards the markets he thinks
will boom.

As one example of Budge's smarts, Tokyo Star has introduced a unique
mortgage product with lending practices specifically targeting young
Japanese looking to buy their first home. This, along with a small
selection of technological advantages over the rest of the industry,
gives Star improved prospects for a profitable future.

The only reservation we have, really, is whether Budge might have
missed the boat a bit.

The flotation of Shinsei Bank earlier this year went off with a lot
of fireworks. It was very clear then just how far a mass of
excitable private investors were pushing the price north.

Budge said at the time that he did not want Shinsei's flotation to
influence the timing of Star's. But it is becoming clearer almost
daily that the market is not quite as buoyant as it was back in
February -- and that Star will not get quite the price it might have
easily commanded seven months ago.

It is very likely Budge knows this, of course, and that his plan is
to simply bring Star to market at a reasonably conservative price,
letting the shares rise slowly as the market sees the bank's quality.

But if Lonestar is pushing him for the billions that Ripplewood made
from Shinsei, the opportunity is fast escaping.

-- The Editors

========== ADVERTISEMENT ===============
Introducing the Landmark Tower Yokohama's Business Concierge

The Business Concierge, Japan's first bilingual business support service
for non-Japanese expatriates, offers professional assistance with:
- company registration
- legal and immigration issues
- IT support
- office set-up and much more

We answer in English all your questions about doing business in Japan.
Find out more about the Business Concierge at:
http://www.businessconcierge.jp/
====================================
====================================
SUBSCRIBERS: 19,015 as of September 17, 2004

EDITORS
Written and edited by Roland Kelts
and Leo Lewis (editors2@japaninc.com)

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER JAPAN-SPECIFIC NEWSLETTERS:
http://www.japaninc.com/subscribe_news.html

UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, click here:
http://www.japaninc.com/unsubscribe_news.html

ADVERTISING INFORMATION
To advertise in this newsletter, contact:
ads@japaninc.com

GET THE MAGAZINE
Subscribe at:
http://www.japaninc.net/mag/subs.html

FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS
We welcome your viewpoint:
editors@japaninc.com
(NB Please do not reply to this newsletter -- it's outgoing only,
so we won't get it!)

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS:
webmaster@japaninc.com

(C) Copyright 2004 Japan Inc Communications KK. All Rights Reserved.