Nomura Securities Co. set up Monday what it says is the world's first investment trust specifically targeting fisheries-related businesses worldwide amid growing demand for seafood in many countries.
The company said it has judged that fishery-related businesses will grow in the long term. People in the United States and Europe are becoming more health-conscious, while fish demand is also expected to rise in emerging countries amid economic growth, it said.
"We'd like to attract customers who have not been interested in investment funds," a Nomura official said.
Nomura plans to assemble up to ¥140 billion through the fund from Monday to Aug. 19, while Amundi Japan Ltd., a Japanese unit of French asset management company Amundi, will manage the fund, the brokerage said.
About 30 percent of the collected funds will be invested in businesses in Japan, while around 40 percent would be invested in U.S. firms, Nomura officials said.
The company also plans to invest in companies in Thailand and Brazil, as well as in Norway, where fishing is a main industry.
The fund will be invested in listed companies that engage in fishing or fish farming, as well as those that make fishery-related goods, including fishing gear and ship engines, the officials said.