■ Sony 50 Years Ago

On September 17th, 1970, exactly fifty years ago from today, Sony became the first Japanese company to be listed on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). Nine years earlier, in 1961, Sony had also been the first Japanese company to issue American Depository Receipts (ADRs).

Listing application submitted by Sony in 1970		Specimen stock certificates
		(Courtesy of NYSE Group)

In 1970, Sony's total sales were 150.1 billion yen (1.42 billion USD^*) and our market capitalization was 261.3 billion yen (2.47 billion USD^*). This was immediately after Sony had entered the entertainment business by establishing CBS/Sony Records in 1968. On the product front, it was two years after Sony launched the first Trinitron color TV, "KV-1310," and five years before the release of the first Beta system VCR, "SL-6300."
* Based on current exchange rates

The first Trinitron color TV, "KV-1310"	The first Beta system VCR, "SL-6300"

At the press briefing following Sony's listing on the NYSE, Sony Founder Akio Morita announced that Sony had taken its first step toward becoming a company of worldwide standing, and stated his intention to make Sony an international company built on a global foundation.

Incidentally, of the 77 companies that were listed on the NYSE at that time, only eight are still listed today, including Sony. Furthermore, reaching this 50 year milestone puts us in the top 10% of all NYSE listed companies in terms of longevity, ranking us 224th out of a total of 2,240. Just by looking at these figures, you can gain a sense of the magnitude of this achievement.

Just before we issued our first ADRs, Sony had a foreign stock ownership ratio of just 4.6% (the average for a Japanese company at the time was 1.4-1.5%), but by the end of the 1970 fiscal year this had grown to 42.6% (as of June 30 of this year, the rate is 59.9%), so I think it can be said that Sony's listing on the NYSE marked the globalization of our financial strategy. This transitioned our corporate governance to a new phase as well, with timely disclosure in the form of quarterly financial results announcements, and the appointment of outside Directors to our Board of Directors.

■ My Personal Experiences

When I joined Sony in 1983, I was first assigned to Capital Market & Investor Relations in Sony headquarters, and one of my initial responsibilities was to assist Morita-san, who was appointed as a member of the NYSE's Listed Company Advisory Committee on a three-year term starting in 1982. Morita-san was serving as the first ever Advisory Committee member outside North America at the direct request of the then Chairman of the NYSE.

My subsequent experiences in terms of direct interaction with our North American investors and capital markets included my assignment to New York to work in Investor Relations in the early 1990s. After returning to Sony from So-net in 2013, as CFO I led our efforts in 2015 to raise 301.7 billion yen equity financing (equity financing through new share issuance) to fund CMOS image sensor production capacity and R&D, in which we also gained support from U.S. investors.

■ Expanding the Dialogue from Shareholders to Stakeholders

In the current landscape, 50 years after Sony's listing on the NYSE, I feel that in addition to engaging in dialogue with shareholders and investors, companies must also strengthen their dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders, including customers, employees, and local communities, on topics extending to their contribution to society and the environment.

With that in mind, I gave a speech at the ESG/Technology Briefing held last week on September 10, explaining the societal and environmental contributions Sony is making through our business from a long-term perspective. If you haven't already, please take this opportunity to read the coverage of this event.

As always, I look forward to receiving your feedback.