"Privatization Begins" Tokyo Metro, Japan's Subway Operator, Scheduled for IPO

Tokyo Metro, which operates nine subway lines in Tokyo, Japan, is scheduled to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 23rd of next month.

On the 20th, the Tokyo Stock Exchange approved Tokyo Metro's new listing, according to reports from Kyodo News and Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The expected price for the sale of existing shares is 1,100 yen per share (approximately 10,180 KRW), and based on this, the market capitalization is estimated to be 640 billion yen (approximately 5.92 trillion KRW).

Currently, the shares of Tokyo Metro are held 53.4% by the Japanese government and 46.6% by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Regarding this listing, Kyodo News forecasted that it will be a "turning point for full privatization." This listing was promoted in accordance with the Reconstruction Funding Act introduced in 2011, which stipulates that the government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government must each sell half of their shareholdings by 2027, using the proceeds from the sale to repay bonds issued for the reconstruction costs of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange has approved the new listing of Tokyo Metro.