Citigroup to list on Tokyo Stock Exchange: Nikkei http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUST13398520070218
Sat Feb 17, 2007
TOKYO (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile,Research), the largest U.S. bank, plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange later this year, a move that could make it easier to buy Japanese firms through stock swaps, the Nihon Keizai (Nikkei) business daily reported on Sunday.
Quoting an unnamed Citigroup executive in New York, Nikkei said the U.S. lender had already started preparations for the listing it saw as indispensable for carrying out its expansion plans in Japan.
Citigroup was expected to list its depository receipts (DRs) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange later this year, Nikkei said.
If Citigroup lists its DRs in Tokyo, investors in Japan will be able to indirectly buy and sell the firm's shares in the form of JDRs, Nikkei said.
Citigroup officials were not immediately available for comment. The U.S. financial conglomerate fueled speculation about a possible buyout of Nikko Cordial Corp. (8603.T: Quote, Profile, Research) last month when it said it would establish a Japanese holding company, a move that would make acquisitions easier.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is considering whether to delist Nikko, Japan's third-largest brokerage, over an accounting scandal. Citigroup owns about 5 percent of Nikko.
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