Reignition of Internet Securities Commission Fees Competition

April 27, 2021 (Tuesday) Clear

・NTT <9432> [Closing price 2,778.5 yen] Reduce employee attendance rate from 30% to 20%.

Nippon Yusen Kaisha <9101> [Closing price 4,090 yen] In principle, work from home.

Teijin <3401> [Closing price 1,790 yen] Reduce attendance rate at national headquarters and offices to 20% or less.

The current state of emergency recommends a 70% reduction in in-person attendance, but judging by the flow of people, achieving this in Kasumigaseki is far off.

SMEs face adoption costs.

・Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers, announced on the 26th that it will invest $28.87 billion (about 3.1 trillion yen) in China to increase production of automotive semiconductors and other products.

A new line will be installed at an existing factory in Nanjing, aiming to achieve mass production in 2023.

Large-scale investments in China have not occurred since the 2015 announcement of the Nanjing plant.

・The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is studying a revision of the highway toll system.

In congested sections such as the Tokyo metropolitan area, tolls will be raised during peak times to reduce car inflow.

A full-scale rollout is targeted within fiscal year 2021.

・Apple, Inc. on the 26th announced that its investment in the United States over the next five years will exceed $430 billion (about 46 trillion yen).

Funds will be allocated to office construction and expansion, and to the development of logistics and production bases.

In the face of growing criticism of monopolistic tendencies and gatekeeping by the IT sector, the company emphasizes its contribution to the economy.

The annual average investment is expected to reach about $860 billion, about 20% more than the plan announced in 2018, with plans to hire around 20,000 new employees.

・In the areas around the four prefectures where the state of emergency for COVID-19 has been declared, crowds in downtown areas are not being restrained.

On the 25th, many places saw foot traffic at levels similar to the previous week, with some increases in certain areas.

There are concerns about the spread of infection in areas outside of the declared regions as people flow from areas with store closures.

・U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital established a fund of about 110 billion yen focused on Japanese companies.

Bain sees that the COVID-19 crisis will accelerate corporate restructuring in Japan and expects sales of Japanese corporate subsidiaries to accelerate.

Mid-sized companies facing issues such as business succession are also targeted.

The newly established fund will invest in mid-sized companies with a corporate value of 20–50 billion yen.

・As the spread of COVID-19 continues, the effectiveness of vaccination and policy restrictions is shaping the fortunes of different countries.

Israel and the United Kingdom are moving toward normalizing social activities with early vaccinations, while India's new infections are at a record high.

One cause of the rapid resurgence in new infections after a period of decline is the presence of variant viruses.

In India, in March, a “double mutation” was detected that combines two characteristic mutations in one virus, and recently a “triple mutation” has also been found.

・COVID-19-related financing support is turning point.

Until now, loans have prevented bankruptcies, but borrowing capacity for companies is narrowing.

As restrictions on economic activity prolong, the focus of support is shifting toward capital strengthening to bolster financial foundations.

There are views that the need for capital reinforcement could exceed 4 trillion yen, and moves to acquire all shares to take control of management have emerged.

・Competition in online securities fees intensifies again.

The largest SBI Securities <8473> [Closing price 2,959 yen] on the 20th announced free of charge for domestic physical stock trading for those 25 and under.

Matsui Securities <8628> [Closing price 897 yen] and Okasan Online <8609> [Closing price 451 yen] quickly followed suit.

・South Korea’s POSCO, a world-leading steelmaker, is building an integrated supply system for battery materials from mining to electrode material shipments.

In lithium, new extraction plants will be established in adjacent mining sites and within Korea, and electrode material plants will expand production capacity.

・Mitsubishi UFJ Bank <8306> [Closing price 572.5 yen] on the 26th will tighten its policy on lending and investment in coal-fired power plants in June.

Already implementing a policy to lend or invest in new construction projects, with applicability to expansions of existing plants. Exceptions are also specified.

・The governments of Hong Kong and Singapore announced on the 26th that, under the condition of COVID-19 testing,

they will launch a “Travel Bubble” allowing mutual travel without mandatory quarantine on arrival from May 26.

For Hong Kong residents, two doses of vaccination are also required.

・Global COVID-19 infections (daily deaths) as of 4/26 4:00 PM, compiled by Johns Hopkins University: World total 147.1 million infections (9,611 deaths)

United States 32,077,297 (279) India 17,313,163 (2,812) Brazil 14,340,787 (1,305) France 5,559,121 (145) Russia 4,708,640 (326) Turkey 4,629,969 (347)

United Kingdom 4,420,443 (11) Italy 3,962,674 (217) Spain 3,468,617 (0) Germany 3,306,692 (61) Argentina 2,860,884 (170) Colombia 2,774,464 (465)

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