TMCNet: Pachinko hall operators seek Jasdaq listings
Pachinko hall operator P Ark Co. on Thursday applied to be listed on the Jasdaq Securities Exchange, a move that could trigger applications for listings by other companies in the industry...Dynam Co.,which operates a nationwide chain of pachinko parlors, is expected to apply for listing as early as January 2006...more...
There are listed pachinko machine makers, pachinko parlour change machine makers, pachinko parlour advertising companies but if we now have parlour companies themselves listing (excluding Konami's minor foray into the sector) then it's clear the business is getting more legitimate. The machine makers (Heiwa, Sankyo, Sammy) are at the top of the business because they own the patents on "hit" machines - you might say they are the record labels of the pachinko business. They also tend to employ ex-senior policeman as useful "advisors". Next in line are wholesalers who end up effectively financing parlours by offering machines and services in the hope that positive cashflow will pay the bills. Up until now, the parlour operators have been regarded as scum and have had no access to stock market finance in the same way that sarakin (consumer loan companies) were originally barred as "social evils". Ashikaga Bank, a major player in yen transfers to North Korea, was a lender to parlours before it went bankrupt two years ago but other banks were wary of financing the sector. Now the stock market doors look open. The quid pro quo for this new status must be either hefty campaign donations or, potentially, a pachinko tax further down the line.
