An increasing number of Japanese companies are offering gifts to retail investors in an effort to expand their shareholder base.
As many as 56 companies have set up so-called shareholder benefit programs since October, up 33% from the total for the 12 months ending in September, according to Daiwa Investor Relations Co. in Tokyo. The number of firms which established similar schemes each year had fallen since peaking at 106 in 2018.
