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Business228 words2 min read

Tokio Marine to Split Stock 15-for-1, Add Shareholder Perks

white and brown boat on sea dock during daytime
Photo by Wee Ping Khoo on Unsplash

Tokio Marine Holdings, a major Japanese insurance group, has announced a large stock split.

The company will split one share into 15 shares, with a record date of September 30.

A record date is the specific day used to decide which shareholders qualify for the split.

Tokio Marine also revealed plans to introduce a shareholder benefit program for the first time.

Such programs usually give shareholders small gifts or discounts as a reward for holding shares.

In addition, the company revised its dividend forecast for this fiscal year upward in effect.

A dividend is a portion of company profit paid out to shareholders.

This means investors who hold Tokio Marine shares may receive more money than earlier planned.

Companies often carry out a stock split to lower the price of each individual share.

A lower share price can make the stock easier for smaller, individual investors to buy.

This can help increase the number of people trading the company's shares.

The details were reported by Reuters and Bloomberg, though full figures were not given.

It remains unclear exactly how large the dividend increase will be or what the new shareholder perks will include.

Tokio Marine is one of Japan's largest financial groups, active in insurance and related services.

Stock splits and new shareholder programs are often seen as signals that a company wants to attract more retail investors.

Vocabulary10 words

insurance
a system where people pay money to be protected against loss
record date
the day used to decide who owns shares for an event
shareholder benefit
a special gift or discount given to people who own shares
dividend
part of a company's profit paid to shareholders
stock split
dividing one share into several smaller shares
forecast
a prediction about what will happen in the future
retail investors
ordinary individual people who buy and sell shares
financial group
a large company that deals with money and investing
revised
changed after looking at something again
individual
one single person, not a group

Quiz

1. What ratio will Tokio Marine use for its stock split?
2. What did Tokio Marine do to its dividend forecast?
3. Why do companies often carry out stock splits?

Fill-in-the-blank listening

Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.

Tokio Marine Holdings, a major Japanese _____ group, has announced a large stock split.

The company will split one share into 15 shares, with a _____ date of September 30.

A record date is the specific day used to decide which shareholders _____ for the split.

Tokio Marine also revealed plans to introduce a shareholder _____ program for the first time.

In addition, the company revised its _____ forecast for this fiscal year upward in effect.

This means _____ who hold Tokio Marine shares may receive more money than earlier planned.

Companies often carry out a stock split to lower the _____ of each individual share.

A lower share price can make the stock easier for smaller, individual _____ to buy.

The details were reported by Reuters and Bloomberg, though full _____ were not given.

Stock splits and new shareholder programs are often seen as signals that a company wants to attract more _____ investors.

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