Source: News Stocks

Nomura Securities Co. will set up Monday what it says is the world¡¯s first investment trust specifically targeting fisheries-related businesses worldwide amid growing demand for fish in many countries.

The company said it has judged that fishery-related businesses will grow in the long term. People in the United States and Europe are becoming more health-conscious while fish demand is also expected to rise in emerging countries amid economic growth, it said.

"We'd like to attract customers who have not been interested in investment funds," a Nomura official said.

Nomura plans to assemble up to 140 billion yen through the fund during the period from Monday to Aug. 19, while Amundi Japan Ltd., a Japanese unit of French asset management company Amundi, will manage the fund, the major Japanese brokerage house said.

About 30 percent of the collected funds is expected to be invested in businesses in Japan, while around 40 percent would be invested in U.S. firms, Nomura officials said.

The company also plans to invest in companies in emerging economies such as Thailand and Brazil, as well as in Norway where fishing is a main industry.

The fund will be invested in listed companies that engage in fishing or fish farming, as well as those which make fishery-related goods such as fishing gear and ship engines, the officials said.