Tokyo: The Japanese government will raise 416 billion yen ($4 billion) from the initial public offering of 160 million shares of Kyushu Railway Co., or JR Kyushu, the latest in the privatization of this nation's prized train operations.
The initial price is 2,600 yen ($24) a share, the company said Monday, the highest in the range initially announced as from 2,400 yen ($23).
The move is part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" revival program. Hopes are high that Japanese people, who tend to save rather than spend, might see the IPO as a safe investment.
Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu has a bullet train line and other, less successful local trains.
JR Kyushu lists on the Tokyo Exchange Oct. 25, and the following day on the Fukuoka exchange.
