Japanese firms are trying to build loyalty with individual investors to offset a wave of selling by institutions.
Companies have historically doled out gifts including amusement park tickets and restaurant vouchers to entice regular people to buy stock. These perks are now reserved for just long-term shareholders at more than a third of companies that offer them, a fourfold increase from 10 years ago.
Pressure from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and regulators has led companies including insurers and banks to cut their cross-shareholdings that had traditionally shielded companies’ management from criticism. That’s made firms more vulnerable to activist investors, and the gift strategy is designed to shore up support.