Jul 17 (Wall Street Journal) - Cash is king, especially in a bear market. Japanese investors should rejoice that companies are returning more to their shareholders.
The surge in stock buybacks and dividends for Japanese companies—which started in the wake of corporate-governance reforms pushed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe—is continuing apace, even in a tricky market. Companies in the Topix index announced a record ¥3 trillion, the equivalent of $22 billion, of buybacks in May. That means the total amount of buybacks in the first two months this fiscal year, which ends in March, is already up 73% from the same period a year earlier, according to Jefferies. Together with the rise in dividend disbursements—which are also hitting historical highs—payouts for shareholders could hit a record ¥27.8 trillion this fiscal year, says the bank. Companies from Softbank to Nintendo have announced buybacks.
