TSE's Tsurushima May Quit Over Bungled Mizuho Trade (Update4) Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Tokyo Stock Exchange President Takuo Tsurushima said he may quit after the bourse said its system prevented Mizuho Financial Group Inc. from canceling a trading error that will cost at least 27 billion yen ($223 million).
Mizuho Securities Co., the brokerage arm of Japan's second- biggest bank, may demand compensation from the exchange, said Keita Onuki, a spokesman at the unit. The TSE failed to respond to four attempts to cancel the order to sell 610,000 shares for 1 yen each in telecommunications company J-Com Co. Mizuho had intended to sell 1 share for 610,000 yen for a client. The bungled trade may force the Tokyo exchange to shelve its plans for an initial public offering, according to STB Asset Management Co.'s Makoto Haga. The failure follows a computer breakdown at the exchange on Nov. 1, which shut down the world's second-largest stock exchange for 4 1/2 hours. ``The exchange may have to put its IPO on ice until the storm blows over,'' said Haga, a senior fund manager at STB Asset, which manages $1.8 billion in Japan. ``The exchange will have to revamp its computer system to make sure it can't accept orders in excess of the outstanding shares of a company.'' Mizuho shares gained for a second day on speculation the exchange will share some of the group's losses. Burden This suggests ``the financial burden on Mizuho will be limited,'' said Norihiro Fujito, a senior strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``The stock exchange admitting that they were responsible for the trading error may also lure some buyers back'' to financial stocks. Mizuho Financial's stock rose as much as 4 percent today. The company was the most actively traded by value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Topix Banks Index climbed 2.8 percent, with 81 stocks advancing and two declining. I ``will consider how to take the responsibility, which includes my resignation,'' Tsurushima, 67, said at a press conference last night. Shares of Fujitsu Ltd., the supplier of computer servers and telecommunication equipment for the exchange, fell 11 yen, or 1.3 percent, to 860 yen in Tokyo trading as of 10:22 a.m. Losses may mount as Mizuho tries to buy stock in J-Com Co. to meet commitments. The brokerage is trying to buy the shares back from the market to make a settlement, Mizuho's Onuki said. Trading in J-COM was suspended last week and will remain so today, the Tokyo exchange said. The exchange's November trading halt came after Fujitsu performed an upgrade on the systems. The Tokyo exchange initially did not acknowledge responsibility for failing to recognize the cancellation orders. The exchange's officials visited Mizuho Securities' executive yesterday to provide details of what went wrong and give an apology, Onuki said. To contact the reporters on this story: Takahiko Hyuga in Tokyo at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Last Updated: December 11, 2005 21:34 EST Advertisement: $7 Stock Trades and More Powerful Trading Tools at Scot ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Try Online Currency Trading with GFT. Free 50K Demo. Trade 24 Hours. Commission-Free. http://us.click.yahoo.com/RvFikB/9M2KAA/U1CZAA/zMEolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/obrolan-bandar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
