Japan Tourism Corporation seeks KOSDAQ listing

[THE INVESTOR] Japan Tourism Corporation, which runs duty-free stores for foreign visitors in Japan, plans to list its shares on South Korea’s secondary bourse KOSDAQ next year, according to sources on July 6.

It is the first time that a Japanese firm is seeking an initial public offering on the Seoul bourse after Japanese mortgage bank SBI Mortgage went public in 2012. 

Headquartered in Fukuoka City, JTC is entirely owned by Korean native Ku Chul-mo, who is its chief executive and president.

The company posted 700 billion won (US$600 million) in sales with an operating margin of 10 percent.

JTC plans to use the funds it will raise through the IPO to open new duty-free shops. It runs some 23 stores in major cities including Tokyo and Osaka.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)