IR strategy

Market participants are unable to evaluate a business properly without a strong story, even if the business is strong and financing and cash allocation are properly managed. IR is the company’s “sales activity” and all employees, including the president, must work together towards the same direction. Nevertheless, it is often the case that “the president is credited when the stock price rises, and the IR staff is blamed when the stock price goes down.”

The most important factor in appealing to the market is the “equity story”, a pitch that can argue “We have strengths and growth potential. Our stock is a bargain!”

IR materials and websites are one of the means of communicating this equity story, but unfortunately, in many cases, they are not well received by overseas institutional investors. The main reasons behind are that IR materials and websites are often merely a collection of data, overstuffed with excessive amount information, and the Japanese language is often translated literally into English, making it difficult to convey the company’s actual message.

The key success factors of an IR strategy are to first develop a solid equity story, prepare information at a level that “anyone can easily comprehend at a glance,” and approach investors and analysts in a proper method.