Japan Post says it's considering options after report of $9 bln JP Bank share sale (updated)

Japan Post Insurance

22/02/2023 24:42

(Adds share moves, background)
       TOKYO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Japan Post Holdings  6178.T 
said on Wednesday it's considering "various options" after
Reuters reported on Tuesday it was looking into selling around a
third of its stake in Japan Post Bank  7182.T , a sale that
could be worth nearly $9 billion.
    Japan's national postal service currently owns around 89% of
the bank and is aiming to reduce the stake to around 60% by the
end of March, while the bank is considering buying back some of
the shares, sources told Reuters.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3510N7
    Shares in Japan Post Bank slide more than 6% on Wednesday
after the Tokyo stock market opened. Japan Post Holdings was
down 1.8% while the benchmark Nikkei index  .N225  was down
0.9%.
    "The company is considering various options from the
perspective of capital policy, but there is no truth that we
have decided whether to conduct the reported measure, the scale
or the timing of it," Japan Post and Japan Post Bank said in
separately issued, similarly worded statements.
    "We will make a formal announcement as soon as any decision
is made," they said.
    A move to sell the stake would mark the first such sale of
shares since Japan Post and its two financial businesses - Japan
Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance  7181.T  - were listed in
2015 in the country's biggest privatisation in about three
decades.
 (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Chris Reese and
Kenneth Maxwell)
 ((Kantaro.Komiya@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @kantarokomiya;))