Japanese regulators are drawing up plans to allow underwritten rights issues in the country, as they finally bow to years of investor pressure to overhaul the way in which Tokyo-listed companies raise funds through equity markets. It had been hoped that the move would pave the way for some of the country's biggest lenders - including Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T), Mitsubishi UFJ (8306.T), Sumitomo Mitsui (8316.T) and Mizuho (8411.T) - to raise cash as they, like many of their global peers, seek to meet new capital requirements under Basel III. But according to plans made by the Financial Services Authority, which were outlined to IFR by a source close to the matter, firms seeking to raise fresh capital may face a waiting period of up to two years as legislators dawdle over necessary rule changes - putting Japanese banks in a potentially precarious position.
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