Hello Kitty instead of Toyota – what’s going on on Japan’s stock exchange? – Diepresse.com
Why a fictional being gets more attention to the Japanese stock exchange than the largest car company in the world.
Hello Kitty – this is this little cute figure that looks like a kitten, but completely without mouth. The company behind Hello Kitty, Sanrio from Tokyo, has now overtaken Japan’s largest company, Toyota, in stock sales last month. The reason for this: Sanrio was included in the important MSCI index.
A total of Sanrio shares worth 2.1 trillion yen ($ 14.6 billion) were traded on the Tokyo stock exchange. That was not just more than twice as much as in the previous month, but also more than the 1.7 trillion yen of Toyota, as can be seen from documents published by the stock exchange.
« Content-related stocks that are resistant to economic cycles offer a feeling of security » in an environment in which companies are confronted with profit uncertainties due to the US tariffs, Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities Co. « also made it easier to include Sanrio in the MSCI index of global investors ».
New return with more products
Sanrio’s shares, which was included in the MSCI Japan Index last month, rose by twelve percent in May. Jefferies Japan raised his price this week because the company is expected to increase the brand value and the license contracts. Toyota, which is more affected by uncertainties regarding the US tariffs and the increasing competition, was left behind with an increase of 1.5 percent. (Bloomberg)
