Japanese companies are trying to build loyalty among individual investors to offset a selloff by institutions.
Companies have historically given out gifts, including theme park tickets and restaurant vouchers, to entice ordinary people to buy shares. These benefits are now reserved only for long-term shareholders at more than a third of the companies that offer them, a fourfold increase from a decade ago.
Pressure from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and regulators has led companies, including insurers and banks, to scale back cross-shareholdings that had traditionally shielded company management from criticism. That has made companies more vulnerable to activist investors, and the gift strategy is intended to shore up support.
