TOKYO -Four of Japan's top property and casualty insurers and other financial firms plan to sell around 500 billion yen of shares in Honda Motor , three people said, as the unwinding of cross-shareholding practices accelerates.
The automaker has already announced plans to buy back up to 300 billion yen of its shares during the current financial year, a move seen as helping absorb some of the impact from the sale. The four firms, which include MS&AD units Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, have previously said they would bring all cross shareholding arrangements to zero.
Cross-shareholding, or companies holding shares in each other, was long seen as a way to cement business ties. However, governance experts and foreign investors have said it protects management from shareholders, leading to lax governance.The four insurers, or their parents, held more than 300 billion yen of Honda shares as of March, with Tokio Marine at 161 billion yen, Sompo Japan at 81 billion, Mitsui Sumitomo at 73 billion and Aioi Nissay at 2.8 billion, securities filings showed.
Shares of Honda turned negative in late trade on Tuesday following the report. Shares were down 1.7% at 1,727 yen, after earlier rising as high as 1,801 yen.Generally, when a single insider buys stock, it is usually not a big deal. However, when several insiders are buying... -- Steve Ballmer passed Bill Gates on Monday to become the sixth-richest person in the world, the first time the former chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp. has been wealthier than the company’s co-founder.