Japan Experts, Extraordinary Performance, Astris Advisory Japan

Astris Advisory Japan

Japan Experts, Extraordinary Performance

Our Corporate Advisory service is designed to give clients access to a wider range of investors. These include Japan specialists as well as global investors. The goal is to help achieve a fair equity valuation.

Equity Bottom-Up

Nippon Flour Mills Co., Ltd. produces and sells flour.  The Company also produces a wide variety of food products in the health, processed, and frozen foods product categories.  Nippon Flour Mills is a member of the Mitsui group.

<ul><li>More improvements to come – FY3/26 results were ahead of guidance, driven by efficiency gains at the Flour Milling segment.</li><li>The Food segment saw growth, but profitability was impacted by cost pressures.</li><li>We continue to think the segment could deliver meaningful earnings growth if costs stabilize.</li></ul>

More improvements to come – FY3/26 results were ahead of guidance, driven by efficiency gains at the Flour Milling segment.The Food segment saw growth, but profitability was impacted by cost pressures.We continue to think the segment could deliver meaningful earnings growth if costs stabilize.

NIPPN Corporation (2001 JP) - Do Not Mistake Depreciation for Deterioration

Executive Director, Metrical Inc

Aki Matsumoto

Executive Director

Independent Leading Corporate Governance Research

Metrical Inc

METRICAL INC. is an independent leading Corporate Governance research firm in Japan where Corporate Governance is increasingly recognized as an important element on corporate management in these days. Thus, CG research and solutions would become an essential component of global capital markets and play important to contribute to transparency of the markets and maximize shareholders’ value in Japan. 

METRICAL INC. provides Corporate Governance research and analysis including rating services, and  also offers investment research and IR services with solutions and customized profound research on CG and IR issues.

The TOPIX, also known as the Tokyo Stock Price Index, is a capitalization-weighted index of all companies listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The index is supplemented by the subindices of the 33 industry sectors. The index calculation excludes temporary issues and preferred stocks, and has a base value of 100 as of January 4, 1968.

<ul>
<li>As the influence of foreign investors grows, we believe that listed companies can increase their base of individual shareholders by lowering the minimum investment unit and reinstating shareholder benefit programs.</li>
<li>The increase in the number of listed companies actually implementing stock splits to lower their minimum trading units was triggered by a “request from the Tokyo Stock Exchange” in 2023.</li>
<li>Companies that understand well present measures to increase individual shareholders as a response to TSE’s request to boost stock prices, but their actual goal is to secure the poxy voting.</li>
</ul>


As the influence of foreign investors grows, we believe that listed companies can increase their base of individual shareholders by lowering the minimum investment unit and reinstating shareholder benefit programs.
The increase in the number of listed companies actually implementing stock splits to lower their minimum trading units was triggered by a “request from the Tokyo Stock Exchange” in 2023.
Companies that understand well present measures to increase individual shareholders as a response to TSE’s request to boost stock prices, but their actual goal is to secure the poxy voting.


Is the Real Purpose Behind the Increasing Number of Stock Splits to Secure Proxy Voting?

Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded and packaged consumer foods worldwide. The Company also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the foodservice and commercial baking industries.

<ul><li>General Mills has agreed to sell its Häagen-Dazs ice-cream shops and gifting business in mainland China to an investor group that includes Ningji, the local Chinese tea chain operator.</li><li>The transaction makes General Mills the seller of a carved-out mainland China retail asset, while Ningji and its investor partners are the acquiring group.</li><li>The buyer will receive an exclusive license to use the Häagen-Dazs brand for ice-cream shops and gifting businesses in mainland China, while General Mills will continue to own and operate Häagen-Dazs retail and foodservice businesses in China outside the mainland.</li></ul>

General Mills has agreed to sell its Häagen-Dazs ice-cream shops and gifting business in mainland China to an investor group that includes Ningji, the local Chinese tea chain operator.The transaction makes General Mills the seller of a carved-out mainland China retail asset, while Ningji and its investor partners are the acquiring group.The buyer will receive an exclusive license to use the Häagen-Dazs brand for ice-cream shops and gifting businesses in mainland China, while General Mills will continue to own and operate Häagen-Dazs retail and foodservice businesses in China outside the mainland.

General Mills’ Häagen-Dazs China Sale Signals A Bigger Portfolio Shake-Up!

McCormick & Company, Inc. manufactures, markets, and distributes flavor products (including spices, herbs, extracts, seasonings and flavorings) and other specialty food products to the food industry. The Company sells to retail stores, food manufacturers, and food service businesses.

<ul><li>McCormick & Company is no longer just a quiet spice-and-seasoning story.</li><li>The company has suddenly become a more closely watched name after reports that activist investor Toms Capital built a significant stake following McCormick’s planned combination with Unilever Foods.</li><li>The activist’s exact intentions remain unclear.</li></ul>

McCormick & Company is no longer just a quiet spice-and-seasoning story.The company has suddenly become a more closely watched name after reports that activist investor Toms Capital built a significant stake following McCormick’s planned combination with Unilever Foods.The activist’s exact intentions remain unclear.

McCormick’s Activist Wake-Up Call: Toms Capital Just Put The Flavor Giant In Focus!

Smartkarma's AI Co-Pilot, Smartkarma

αSK

Smartkarma's AI Co-Pilot

Smartkarma

Smartkarma unites the fragmented investment industry, connecting institutional investors, independent research providers, and corporates within a single network.

Research Reinvented

Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad manufactures and sells monosodium glutamate (MSG) and other related products.  The Company also produces consumer food products such as food seasonings, flavored salt and pepper, and sago starch.

<ul>
  <li>Dominant market leader with a 90% share in Malaysia's consumer seasoning segment, underpinned by a globally recognized brand and extensive distribution network.</li>
  <li>Strong financial performance characterized by robust revenue growth and exceptional growth in net income and free cash flow over the past three years, supported by a debt-free balance sheet.</li>
  <li>Strategic focus on Halal-certified products and a new eco-friendly 'smart factory' positions the company to capitalize on growing domestic and international Halal markets.</li>
</ul><p><em>This content is AI-generated and displayed for general informational purposes only. Please verify independently before use.</em></p>


  Dominant market leader with a 90% share in Malaysia's consumer seasoning segment, underpinned by a globally recognized brand and extensive distribution network.
  Strong financial performance characterized by robust revenue growth and exceptional growth in net income and free cash flow over the past three years, supported by a debt-free balance sheet.
  Strategic focus on Halal-certified products and a new eco-friendly 'smart factory' positions the company to capitalize on growing domestic and international Halal markets.
This content is AI-generated and displayed for general informational purposes only. Please verify independently before use.

Primer: Ajinomoto Malaysia (AJI MK) - Jun 2026

Consumer Staples
Insights in the Consumer Staples Space

NIPPN Corporation (2001 JP) - Do Not Mistake Depreciation for Deterioration

More improvements to come – FY3/26 results were ahead of guidance, driven by efficiency gains at the Flour Milling segment.

Astris Advisory Japan

Is the Real Purpose Behind the Increasing Number of Stock Splits to Secure Proxy Voting?

I would like to discuss the May 6 Nikkei article titled “Lower Barriers to Stock Investment: Minimum Investment Amounts and Stock Splits Bring...

Metrical Inc

General Mills’ Häagen-Dazs China Sale Signals A Bigger Portfolio Shake-Up!

General Mills has agreed to sell its Häagen-Dazs ice-cream shops and gifting business in mainland China to an investor group that includes Ningji,...

Baptista Research

McCormick’s Activist Wake-Up Call: Toms Capital Just Put The Flavor Giant In Focus!

McCormick & Company is no longer just a quiet spice-and-seasoning story. The company has suddenly become a more closely watched name after...

Baptista Research

Primer: Ajinomoto Malaysia (AJI MK) - Jun 2026

Dominant market leader with a 90% share in Malaysia's consumer seasoning segment, underpinned by a globally recognized brand and extensive...

αSK