S&P Launches 'Japan Eco Index' for Investors, Focusing on Environment-Related Companies

Standard & Poor's (S&P), a provider of financial market intelligence and a source of risk evaluation and credit ratings, announced on March 9, 2009, that it had launched the S&P Japan Eco Index of environment-related stocks.

The index includes 25 major companies operating in industries such as clean energy, water treatment and infrastructure, timber, environmental services and waste management. All electric utility companies, including Tokyo Electric Power Company, the environmental equipment manufacturer Ebara Corporation, and others are currently included in the index.

To be eligible for inclusion in the index, companies must have a total market capitalization of at least 10 billion yen, a three-month average daily trading value of more than 50 million yen, and businesses focusing on areas such as water treatment, alternative energy, and environmental services.

The S&P Japan Eco Index is a part of the S&P Global Thematic Index Series, which is based on important investment themes that cut across industries and geographic boundaries. Standard & Poor's indicated that an increasing number of investors perceive climate change and environmental responsibility as investment risks and opportunities, and the S&P Japan Eco Index can help investors by providing guidance.

S&P Launches Japan Eco Index
http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/index/
030909_JapanEco-Launch.pdf

Posted: 2009/06/16 06:00:15 AM

TAG Non-manufacturing industry , System/Law