NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile telecommunication carrier, plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the London Stock Exchange on March 1, according to a report in the Friday morning edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper.
"We have been considering listing the company overseas for a while, but nothing has been fixed as of this time," said Toru Hinata, a spokesman for NTT DoCoMo, commenting on the report.
DoCoMo originally planned to list its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the NYSE last September. However, the company delayed its listing plans as the prices of shares in many IT companies were in decline at that time.
NTT DoCoMo hopes listing shares in New York and London will help promote its wireless Internet I-mode service overseas, according to the report. The company plans to offer its I-mode service, which has 30 million subscribers in Japan, in North America and Europe. However, the launch dates for i-Mode services in these markets have not been announced.
The company's decision to list its shares overseas comes as the investment environment for IT-related stocks has generally improved. In addition, NTT DoCoMo has cleaned up its balance sheet after taking in November an extraordinary charge of ¥300 billion (US$2.3 billion) from valuation losses on shares it holds in Dutch mobile operator KPN Mobile N.V.
NTT DoCoMo is also listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.