Preparations progressed toward Olympic safety operations
May 27, 2021 (Thursday) Rain Final trading day with rights and dividends
・The Revised Act on the Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures, which clearly states the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, was enacted on the 26th.
Even for the decarbonization realization, a study shows that investments of 8,500 trillion yen will be required in the four regions of Japan, the United States, Europe, and China from 2021 to 2050.
The technology race that will shape the global economic landscape is at a critical juncture.
For Japan, the challenge is whether it can maintain an edge in leading areas such as practical hydrogen use and next‑generation storage batteries, and rebound in areas like underground CO2 storage where it lags.
・IHI <7013> [Close 2,604 yen] will enter next-generation nuclear power generation business.
Investing in US startup New Scale Power, and supplying core equipment first for a small nuclear power project in the United States.
New Scale Power is also invested in by JGC Holdings <1963> [Close 1,062 yen].
・Tokyo, Osaka Prefectures and seven other prefectures requested the government to extend the state of emergency declared for COVID-19 on the 26th.
The government will decide within the week which areas and to what extent to extend.
・Electronics retailer Nojima <7419> [Close 3,105 yen] and Sulga Bank <8358> [Close 372 yen] began discussions to dissolve their capital and business alliance.
Disagreements over business restructuring methods have intensified; Nojima has proposed discussions and indicated it intends to commence sale procedures for its Sulga Bank shares held.
If Sulga Bank’s management accepts the sale intention, a bidding war could begin.
・Amazon.com in the United States on the 26th announced the acquisition of movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
The acquisition price is $8.45 billion (about 920 billion yen). MGM has produced popular spy film series such as James Bond, Rocky, and The Pink Panther, as well as various TV programs.
Premium content expansion for Amazon Prime members will be pursued.
・During the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, preparations continue to ensure safe operations amid concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus.
A "bubble" environment will be created to minimize external contact for athletes, and vaccination of domestic athletes will begin in June.
Including officials, about 94,000 people will come to Japan for the event. The key is whether the measures can be effectively enforced.
・Regarding the Tokyo Olympics, foreign spectators will not be allowed, but there is no upper limit set for domestic spectators at each competition venue.
The selection of athletes and teams with unconfirmed slots will be a focal point in June.
・Fujitsu <6702> [Close 18,505 yen] experienced unauthorized access to its information-sharing tool,
and several customer data were leaked to third parties, with information from the Cabinet Cyber Security Center (NISC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also exposed.
The full extent of the damage is under investigation.
・Ministry of Defense on the 26th published the reservation status for large-scale COVID-19 vaccination at Tokyo venues.
Of the 70,000 doses prepared for vaccinations from the 31st to June 6, as of 5:00 p.m. on May 26, 47,000 were reserved. Openings account for a little over 30% of the total.
Second-round reservations began on the 24th.
In Osaka, reservations for 35,000 people were filled within 32 minutes of受付.
・In response to the issue of waiting children, successive day-care centers opened, but now entering an oversupply era.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on the 26th the first estimate that the number of children using day-care centers will peak in 2025.
The birth rate is falling faster than expected, leading to capacity shortfalls not only in rural areas but also in urban areas.
・On the 26th, the government downgraded its economic assessment for May for the first time in three months, saying the economy continues to recover but "some weakness is increasing in parts."
・For the four major life insurers, new insurance premiums for the fiscal year ending March 2021 totaled 8,202 billion yen, down more than 40% from two years ago, the lowest in ten years.
Internet-based life insurers and foreign players are expanding contracts using fintech, and major life insurers face the challenge of integrating in-person and digital approaches.
For the fiscal year ending March 2021, Nippon Life saw new annualized premiums fall 25%, and Dai-ichi Life <8750> [Close 2,218.5 yen] fell 32%—significant declines.
Online-only insurers are performing well. LifeNet Insurance <7157> [Close 1,142 yen] and AXA Direct Life reported 58 billion yen in annualized premiums for new contracts in the 2021 fiscal year, an 18% increase.
・The prices of industrial materials such as iron ore and copper are rapidly slowing.
The impact is strongest in China, the world’s largest consumer of these materials.
Concerns that excessive price levels could cool domestic demand have led the Chinese government to strengthen trading regulations in May.
Futures prices listed on exchanges in Dalian and Shanghai have fallen sharply, spreading to international markets including Europe and the United States.
・The global commodity price plunge has eased inflation concerns worldwide and led to a decline in long-term yields in the US and Europe.
Federal Reserve Board officials reiterated that price increases are temporary, pushing back expectations for early tightening of monetary policy.
・U.S. Amazon stock has been soft. After hitting a high around $219 at the listing in February, it has been in a downtrend, with a 22% drop in May.
It is currently around $134, near the year's low.
COVID-19 vaccination progress is supporting a recovery in earnings.
・Indian stocks are firm. The Sensex rose on the 26th to near two-and-a-half-month highs.
A slowdown in the pace of new COVID-19 infections in India is a clue.
Solid corporate earnings are also supporting, with purchases ahead of the economic reopening.
・Competition among doctors is heating up in China's online medical market.
Under JD.com’s umbrella, the registered number of doctors expanded to about 110,000 in 2020, about 12 times the 2019 level.
Alibaba-affiliated firms also increased to about 60,000 by the fiscal year ending March 2021, up 40% from the previous year, indicating a crowded field among four major companies.
・By May 25, Tesla announced establishing a data storage hub in China to store data gathered from EV cameras and sensors.
This is in response to new Chinese regulations restricting offshoring.
・As of 4:00 p.m. on May 26, the global COVID-19 infection and death counts (World) compiled by Johns Hopkins University show 1.6784 billion cases (12,236 deaths)
United States 33,166,509 (408) India 27,157,795 (4,157) Brazil 16,194,209 (2,173) France 5,670,486 (221) Turkey 5,203,385 (175) Russia 4,960,174 (385)
United Kingdom 4,483,177 (15) Italy 4,197,892 (166) Germany 3,662,568 (271) Spain 3,652,879 (90) Argentina 3,586,736 (576) Colombia 3,270,614 (151)
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May 29 (Sat) [Corona Morning Seminar] Shoji Okamoto on the New Green Dawn (Tokyo, Hatchobori)
https://www.directform.jp/form/f.do?id=306072a2cdef4e6
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