Japanese companies outside the real estate sector generated more than $77bn in paper profits last year from their non-core property portfolios, increasing pressure on them as investors demand asset sales to unlock value.
The paper profits were spread across more than 250 companies in industries ranging from food production and glass manufacturing to advertising and financial services — many of them businesses that built property empires in the 1980s and have never needed to sell them.
The calculation of their 2023 gains by analysts at Goldman Sachs has emerged ahead of the June annual meeting season — the 10-day stint at the end of next month during which more than 2,000 listed companies meet shareholders.