Rakuten Group Plans to Merge Financial Businesses
By Kosaku Narioka
Rakuten Group plans to merge its various financial services, including its listed online banking unit, as part of its efforts to expand their client base and improve their competitive advantage.
The Japanese e-commerce giant said Monday that the company and Rakuten Bank agreed to start talks over the potential integration of financial services, including banking, credit-card, brokerage and insurance businesses.
Rakuten Bank is expected to remain listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the potential restructuring, which is expected to take effect in October, the companies said.
Rakuten Group said it would discuss the possibility of not listing its brokerage business, Rakuten Securities Holdings, which the group had previously planned to list separately.
The group's financial segment has been the e-commerce giant's profit center in recent years as its mobile business has consistently posted losses.
Profit from its financial segment, including its online banking, brokerage and credit-card services, climbed 37% to 122.915 billion yen ($812.2 million) in 2023, helping support the group's bottom line.
Rakuten Group's net loss narrowed to Y339.47 billion last year from Y377.22 billion in 2022.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2024 00:33 ET (04:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.-
What’s the Difference Between the CPI and PCE Indexes?
-
Micron Earnings: Great Guidance but Stock Now Looks Fairly Valued
-
August PCE Report Forecasts Show More Good News on Inflation
-
AI Stocks May Be Down, but Don’t Count Them Out
-
4 Stocks to Buy as the Fed Cuts Interest Rates
-
Markets Brief: The Uncertain Path to Neutral Interest Rates
-
What’s Happening in the Markets This Week
-
Where Top Stock Fund Managers Are Looking Next After the Fed Rate Cut
-
Our Top Pick for Investing in US Renewable Energy
-
Undervalued by 25% and Yielding 5%, This Stock Is a Buy
-
Can AI Predict Future Stock Returns?
-
The Best Energy Stocks to Buy Now
-
10 Undervalued Wide-Moat Stocks
-
Obesity Drugs: Can New Firms Take Market Share From Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk?
-
New 4-Star Stocks
-
Intel Fair Value Left Unchanged Despite Qualcomm Takeover Talk