BY ALISON TUDORAND AYAI TOMISAWA
TOKYO–The retail tranche of Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co.’s initial public offering–expected to be the largest global IPO in two years–was four to five times oversubscribed, as Japanese households jumped at the chance to buy a piece of one of the country’s best known insurers, people familiar with the matter said Friday.
And while demand among institutional investors was less brisk–one-to-two times oversubscribed, the people said–market watchers said the strong retail showing could provide a fresh investor base that other companies considering going public might be keen to tap, signaling an about-face in Tokyo’s recently dormant IPO industry.
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