Business

Is it a Good time to Invest in Japan’s Equity Market – Kavan Choksi Explains

Everyone is looking forward to Japan as to how the country will progress under the new prime minister. It is now Fumio Kishida who succeeds Yoshihide Suga as the new PM in Japan. As we all know, Covid-19 has created a global impact, and economies are still struggling to recover from its financial impacts of the same. The equity analysts say that Japan is much cheaper for investors when compared to its equity market peers globally. Investors from outside Japan can access the market through funds, ETFs, and investment trusts.

Japan has a new Prime Minister now after the leadership of the Liberal Democratic party was assigned to Fumio Kishida, who is now embarked on the huge task of reviving the Japanese economy, which was damaged due to the pandemic. カヴァン・チョクシ points out that the equity market of Japan also had many ups and downs over the last couple of years, but many investors find it more promising compared to the other global peers like the United States. The Japanese equity market also offers very lucrative opportunities to investors over the longer term.

The most recent figures related to the Japanese economy show steady growth in the country’s GDP. In 2022, it is growing much quicker than expected compared to the same quarter in 2021. However, the slower progression of Covid-19 vaccinations and the restrictions related to the ongoing pandemic are adversely affecting the economy of the nation as a whole.

The Japanese equity market, The Nikkei 225, had hit the 30,000-mark once, which was the highest ever in the last 30 years, which was supported by the pandemic monetary stimulus of the Bank of Japan and the asset purchase programs introduced by the bank. However, there were a few other Covid-based setbacks paired back the index gains, which was less than about 6% year to date.

The index provider data of MSCI Japan shows that the stock markets in Japan have flourished, but not that spectacularly in the previous years. There was an annualized return of about 7.6 percent over the last five years, which was not that good as compared to the 11.9% of the global average. In this context, the UK had managed about 0.6% gain compared to this and China 7 percent and US 15.4%, etc.

Investor’s interest

What is the most important for investors when it comes to putting their money in the Japanese market has experienced a steady reform lately these years. Japanese corporates are hiring more independent directors and also putting more focus on offering more value to investors and stakeholders.

The overall objective of economic reforms and the activities of the Bank of Japan are all focused on the nation’s desire to make Japan a more investment-friendly place and boost the equity market in the country to attract foreign investments. カヴァン・チョクシ also adds to the fact that Japan was one of the best performers in dividends across the globe through 2020, while the companies from across the globe were primarily forced to cut the payouts to investors.