On Saturday, July 26th, at the Fukuoka Stock Exchange, students from the Faculty Faculty of Commerce, Professor Funaoka Kenta's Laboratory, in collaboration with Faculty of Economics, University of Kitakyushu, Professor Kutari Toko's Laboratory and Professor Yao Zhihua's Laboratory, proposed ideas for revitalizing the Fukuoka PRO Market (hereinafter referred to as FPM) to four market participants, including the Chairman of the Fukuoka Stock Exchange.
FPM is a designated exchange financial instruments market for professional investors that opened on December 16, 2024, as the third market of the Fukuoka Stock Exchange after the main market and Q-Board market, the first in 24 years. FPM is the second designated exchange financial instruments market after the TOKYO PRO Market opened by the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and since its opening, nine new start-up companies have listed. There are no numerical criteria for listing, such as profit amount or market capitalization, or regional requirements for headquarters location, and the market aims to be a gateway for stock listing for venture companies and small and medium-sized enterprises across the country with high growth ambitions.
On the day, a total of eight teams from both universities proposed revitalization ideas. Based on interviews with listed companies, five teams of students from our university proposed "Abolishing regional requirements for the Q-Board market, aiming to increase the number of step-up listings from FPMs," while a team of international students proposed "Creating an environment for Asian companies to list on FPMs." These were ideas for revitalization that are unique to a professional market established by a regional stock exchange in Kyushu.
After the proposals were judged, Kyushu Sangyo University team, which proposed "Establishing an IPO Challenge Team Specializing in FPM Listings and Support for Step-Up Listings," won the Grand Prize. The team conducted interviews with companies that had participated in the existing support project, "Kyushu IPO Challenge Team," and had successfully listed. From there, they analyzed further needs and proposed measures to support step-up listings, such as selecting instructors and strengthening public relations to professional investors.
In summarizing the meeting, the Chairman praised the students' proposals, saying, "The results of your young people's flexible thinking will be used as a reference for our future considerations to further revitalize FPM."
*Nobuya Naga (Chairman of the Fukuoka Stock Exchange)
Hidehiko Kaku (Managing Executive Officer, Head of Sales Department, Fukuoka Stock Exchange)
Genichi Wakimoto (Director, Managing Executive Officer, Head of Investment Banking Division, Phillip Securities)
Mr. Hiroto Amano (CEO of Techro Co., Ltd.)
Photo below: The Grand Prize winning team
[Faculty of Commerce]
