NTT Docomo to Make Online Brokerage Monex Subsidiary

Jiji Press

12:48 JST, October 5, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Major mobile carrier NTT Docomo Inc. said Wednesday that it will make online brokerage firm Monex Inc. a consolidated subsidiary in January next year.

With the move, NTT Docomo aims to strengthen its revenue base by entering in earnest the field of asset formation services, in a bid to catch up with other mobile carriers in the financial sector.

It will effectively acquire 49% of the voting rights in Monex for ¥48.5 billion.

NTT Docomo also said that it has formed a capital and business partnership with Monex Group Inc., the parent of the online brokerage firm.

The mobile giant will offer easy-to-use asset formation services for novice investors through Monex, in light of the planned expansion of the Nippon Individual Savings Account, or NISA, tax exemption scheme for small-lot investments in January next year.

The company plans to utilize its “d point” reward point program and other services for the partnership with Monex. The two companies also plan to combine their customer data and propose services tailored to each individual costumer. They also plan to hold investment seminars at NTT Docomo outlets.

Monex will now aim to double the number of customer accounts to 5 million and the value of customer assets to ¥15 trillion in three to four years.

NTT Docomo and Monex Group will establish an intermediate holding company in January, which will own Monex. NTT Docomo will have the right to nominate a majority of the new company’s board members.

“We hope to further develop securities services by utilizing technologies such as generative artificial intelligence,” NTT Docomo President Motoyuki Ii told a press conference on Wednesday.

“It’s really exciting to join hands with NTT Docomo, a ‘giant,’” Monex Group Chairman Oki Matsumoto said at the press conference.

Among other major mobile carriers, KDDI Corp. introduced a new plan in September to combine telecommunications and financial services.

SoftBank Corp. has an economic bloc centered on the PayPay cashless payment service.

Rakuten Group Inc., which owns Rakuten Mobile Inc., is trying to attract customers with its affiliated bank and securities firm.