Merchant bank Asset Investors Co. plans to invest as much as ¥120 billion in domestic companies through a fund set up with Itochu Corp.
The fund will invest in six companies within seven years, Kentaro Washi, corporate planning manager at Tokyo-based Asset Investors, said Tuesday. Targets will include retailers, restaurant chains, information technology firms and manufacturers, he said.
Asset Investors and Itochu, the nation's fourth-largest trading house, set up the fund with ¥20 billion of capital, to be increased to ¥30 billion, the company said in a statement filed with the Tokyo Stock Exchange.