Tokyo's exchange head quits

TOKYO - The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) announced the resignation of its president yesterday after a series of troubles raised concern about the dependability of transaction systems at Asia's largest bourse.

TSE President Takuo Tsurushima will resign, along with two other directors, and chairman Taizo Nishimuro will double as president from today, the TSE said, following a regular board meeting held earlier in the day.

The resignation of Tsurushima, 67, comes after a series of problems with the bourse's trading systems.

This month, the TSE, the world's second-biggest bourse, admitted that trouble with its stock trading system, developed by Fujitsu, had contributed to a huge blunder by Mizuho Financial Group unit Mizuho Securities.

Last month, a system failure halted trading at the exchange for almost a full day, fanning concerns that it may be straining under the heavy increase in volume that has accompanied the Japanese sharemarket's recent surge to five-year highs.

Japan's Financial Services Agency last week ordered the TSE to improve operations by taking steps to prevent a repeat of the Mizuho-related glitch and to clarify responsibility for the problem.

Tsurushima took the helm of the exchange in April last year, becoming the first non-bureaucrat in nearly four decades to clinch what is usually a position held by retired Finance Ministry officials.

Nishimuro, 69, became TSE chairman on June 27, giving up the chairmanship of electronics maker Toshiba.

His appointment was aimed at reinforcing Tsurushima, who lacks overseas experience, at a time when the bourse wants to raise its global presence by going public and seeking more listings from companies based elsewhere in Asia including China.

But Financial Services Minister Kaoru Yosano suggested after the latest trouble that the TSE's technical problems could jeopardise the exchange's own public share listing planned for next year.

Earlier this month, Mizuho Securities mistakenly offered 610,000 shares in recruitment firm J-Com at 1 yen each, instead of the intended one share at 610,000 yen, costing the brokerage about 40.5 billion yen ($505 million).

The order represented more than 40 times the number of J-Com's outstanding shares.

- REUTERS