Japan Post has chosen three investment-trust products, offered by Nomura Asset Management Co., Daiwa Asset Management Co. and Goldman Sachs Asset Management Japan Ltd., to sell at post offices in October, sources said Thursday.
Japan Post will officially announce the decision Monday, the sources said.
One of the products will be linked to the 225-issue Nikkei stock average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Another will be based on the Topix index covering all TSE first section issues. The third one will be invested in stocks, bonds and other targets in Japan and abroad.
Japan Post has received 31 proposals for products from 23 investment trust management companies, the sources said.
Japan Post aims to make the investment-trust sales a key revenue as postal savings have been on the decline in recent years, according to experts.
The state postal service plans to offer the three products initially at 575 post offices nationwide.
Sales from the new business in fiscal 2005 are projected at 80 billion yen, generating 1.4 billion yen in income from fees, according to Japan Post.
In fiscal 2008, it hopes to make investment trusts available at 1,550 post offices. By fiscal 2009, the outstanding investment value of trusts sold at post offices is projected to reach 1.5 trillion yen, close to the average level for a large city bank, the postal service said.