Our expansion into the disclosure business

Following the appointment of Morio Ueno as President, the Company embarked upon a series of innovations that created its present business base. The first step was the Company's advancement into the business of company documents required by the Commercial Code (the current Companies Act). At that time, most of the Company's clients were the general affairs departments of listed companies who commissioned the printing of securities certificates. Through this relationship, the Company also received some orders for documents for general shareholders' meetings. In the late 1970s and early 80s, following the Company's publication of a practical stock information magazine and working-level stock-related seminars, orders for the production of general shareholders' meeting convocation notices and annual reports rapidly grew.

As its next step, through the process of formulating its vision for the future, the Company planned its move into the area of documents related to the Securities and Exchange Act of Japan (currently the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act) as a field of growth outside that of documents required by the Commercial Code. Founded on this new business concept, the Company publicized its "Disclosure Business Declaration" in 1985. For all intents and purposes, this moment marked the Company's "second founding." The Company widened its scope of products, to include securities reports for the disclosure of account settlement, listing applications for IPOs, and investment trust documentation.

To speed up this new business development, the Company set up a nationwide network of sales offices and took a series of bold new steps. It changed its status from an over-the-counter company to a company with stock listed in the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, then eventually listed them in the First Section (its current listing). It launched the Disclosure Practice Study Group to provide practical information about disclosure to clients. It began IPO seminars and set up an organization to give advice on documents relating to investment trusts. It advanced into the legal notice field.

This was the time of the "Big Bang" deregulation of Japan's capital markets, when foreign financial institutions and investment trust firms made inroads and expanded their sales operations. The business environment underwent great changes and there was an IPO boom. As a result, the Company's sales rapidly increased as its traditional clients from the general affairs departments of listed companies were joined by companies preparing for IPOs, accounting departments, investment trust management companies and others.

Advancement into the Commercial Code field (the current Companies Act)

1978
Strengthens sales force and consulting services for the printing of documents required by the Commercial Code of Japan
1978

Publishes Kabushiki Jitsumu no Shiori (Stock Practice Handbook) and Soudan-shitsu Dayori (News From the Counseling Rooms) → Becomes a pioneer in information services

1981
Overhaul of the Commercial Code → moves to ban corporate extortionists from stockholders' meetings
→ Greater need for legality from the standpoint of risk management
→ Expansion in orders for convocation notices and business reports
→ A reduction in orders for securities certificates with the introduction of the unit share system
1983

Start of Commercial Code and Securities and Exchange Act seminars

1983

Joins the NPS Management Institute to enhance its quality and productivity

Advances into the Securities and Exchange Act field (currently the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act field)

1984

Receives initial order for stock listing application documents (Securities and Exchange Act documents)

1985

Receives initial order for a securities report (Securities and Exchange Act document)

1985 "Disclosure Business Declaration" issued
1988

Publishes guidelines for applications for stock listing (Section Ⅱ)

1988 Enhancement of Commercial Code and Securities and Exchange Act seminars

Advancement into the investor relations (IR) field

1988 Begins involvement in IR business
1988

Begins the integrated production of business reports, company brochures and videos for IPO ventures

1989
The new stock listing rush (an IPO boom)
1990

Starts stock offering seminars → Expansion of IPO support and consulting services

1991
Conference for Securities Association releases IR Katsudou no Sokushin ni Tsuite (The Promotion of IR)
1993
Japan Investor Relations Association inaugurated
1990s Improves and expands sales structures in readiness for stock offering
1990s

Sets up a network of branches and sales offices throughout Japan

1994

Registers as an OTC stock

1996

Lists on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange

1992

Advances into the legal notice and IR advertisement fields

1995 Starts the "Stock listing application document-writing workshop"
1996 Begins publication of the Kabushiki Koukai Hakusho (White Paper on Share Offerings)
1996

Holds share-offering intensive seminars throughout Japan

From 1996
"Big Bang" deregulation of Japan's financial markets

Advancement into the investment trust field

1988 Advancement into the investment trust documentation field
1988 Sets up a dedicated sales force
1990
Foreign-owned asset management companies begin business in Japan
1992 Sets up its Advisory Division
1996
Financial market Big Bang → Deregulation and expansion of market for financial instruments
1996 Work orders, mainly from foreign asset management companies, rapidly increase → Exceed 10% of total sales
Enhances its marketing systems
1998
Investment trusts Bancassurance ban lifted
2000
Revision of the Act on Investment Trust and Investment Corporations → Companies obliged to disclose information about their Securities and Exchange Act compliance
Responds to rapid increase in orders following revision for the system
Begins services to assist in J-REIT establishment
2001
First J-REIT listing
Since then, PRONEXUS has participated in over 95% of all new listing projects in the J-REIT sector and over 80% of all settlement of accounts and public offering projects (as of March 2016)
2008 Sales in the investment trust/REIT sector → Grow to account for a little over 30% of total sales