| January 4, 2002 |
New Year's Greeting Ceremony
Summary of President & CEO Junichi Ujiie's New Year's Greeting Happy New Year! There are many who predict a Japanese economic recovery on the heels of mid-year economic recovery in the United States, though until such a time we expect the situation to remain harsh. However, more important than these short-term business trends and economic policy forecasts are the major underlying changes. It is essential we develop a thorough understanding of these as we make the transition to a company able to ensure sustainable profits amid both a shifting business climate and changing policies as well as cyclical changes in the business environment. Last year we reorganized into a holding company structure and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. These measures were designed to enable us to implement change in order to ascertain major underlying changes. The first major change is the increasing pace of globalization. Virtually all of Japan's financial and capital markets as well as its real economy are already integrated into the global markets. It would be meaningless to categorize domestic and overseas markets. Globalization focusing on Japanese clients represents the first step towards achieving our vision and is growing in significance. Our listing on the NYSE sent a message to the world that we are establishing a competitive edge through global competition. The second major change concerns Japanese corporate management reforms. Far-reaching reviews of business portfolios will enhance balance sheet and human capital efficiency as well as increase returns on investments and give rise to efforts to boost corporate value. This year, we believe major reform developments such as these will grow to greater proportions and take place more rapidly than before. Although we have developed a structure able to provide ample services to cope with such developments, we will further enhance this structure in 2002. Thirdly, we will broaden our retail investor client base. Although it is a fact we have encountered many difficult issues in the market, including those concerning MMF and turbulence in the low-rated bond markets, it is also a fact we continue to seek the emergence of new retail investors in capital markets. Long-awaited developments are steadily taking root, and this year we intend to further press forward with such developments. It is essential that we continue to take close measure of the major underlying changes in the business environment in order that we may adjust to focus on these changes as they gather pace. In 2001, the Nomura Group transformed into a single corporate entity under a holding company structure. We would like to make 2002 the year to carry forward our primary objective of globalization focusing on Japanese clients. |
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