Japan’s startup and initial public offering markets may get a shot in the arm from a new trading platform designed to help unlisted companies raise capital, according to a recent announcement from the country’s financial regulator.
Earlier this month, the Financial Services Agency registered Smartround Securities as a brokerage for secondary market trading of unlisted shares. The move is part of broader efforts to widen private markets and draw more investment into domestic startups, the agency said.
Until now, investors in Japanese startups have had few ways to cash out beyond an IPO or a sale to a third party. A more efficient secondary market could change that, easing the flow of capital to growing businesses, said Sylvain Thieullent, chief executive officer of Horizon Trading Solutions.
“Companies come to the public market better prepared, ultimately improving the quality of Japan’s IPO pipeline,” Thieullent said.
Aligning with a global shift
The platform positions Japan within a wider global trend of regulators actively reshaping private markets, with similar efforts underway in the U.S. and the U.K. Jeremy Tan, chief executive officer of Tiger Fund Management, said Smartround fits with regulators’ aim to improve corporate governance at unlisted companies while giving investors more oversight and offering founders a channel to engage with minority shareholders.
“The new platform could enhance more transparency and disclosures of unlisted companies given the potential digitalization of ledgers and corporate records that will be made available to investors,” Tan said.
To participate in the platform, founders and senior management of the unlisted companies would have to meet certain disclosure obligations, Tan added.
Still, the shift to more active private trading comes with caveats. “The challenge everywhere is creating liquidity and better price discovery without pretending private shares have the same transparency as listed stocks,” Thieullent said.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/japan-startups-ipos-trading-platform-unlisted-companies-.html
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