May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s central bank may offer venture-capital type funding after cutting interest rates near zero and committing 20 trillion yen ($212 billion) into money markets failed to halt deflation.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa yesterday said he wants to bolster economic growth by helping private companies nurture technological innovation in such industries as energy and the environment. A reference for the initiative is a 1998- era program that funneled credit to banks making new loans, he said at a press briefing in Tokyo.
The BOJ’s effort moves it further away from some of its counterparts, with the Federal Reserve phasing out its programs extending credit to private companies following the start of the U.S. economic recovery. Without deeper policy changes by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, the extra provision of cash may go unused, leaving a limited impact on growth, analysts said.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Bank of Japan Considers Venture-Capital Route to Spark Economy - BusinessWeek
Author: Mayumi Otsuma
