FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk out from a Seven & I Holdings' 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo, Japan, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File/File PhotoTOKYO : Japanese companies cannot use a national security designation as a tool to thwart foreign takeovers, a senior finance ministry official said, pushing back at speculation Tokyo's foreign exchange act could be manipulated for protectionism.
Seven & i, with a market value of $38 billion, is currently categorised in the finance ministry's classification list as a company that conducts"designated", not"core", businesses. But in the case of acquiring control in any so-called"designated business", a would-be buyer must file prior notification regardless of whether the target is"core" or"non-core", the official said.
The survey is not related to Couche-Tard's buyout proposal, which the Japanese company revealed on Aug. 19, Seven & i said.