BOJ estimates $6 billion annual gain from faster ETF sales, finance minister says

TOKYO, Nov 10 : The Bank of Japan estimates that its accelerated sales of exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings will generate about 1 trillion yen ($6.33 billion) in additional annual proceeds, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Tuesday.

Katayama's remarks come after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi unveiled plans last week to tap proceeds from the BOJ's ETF sales to fund investment in areas deemed vital to Japan's economic security, as the government seeks new revenue sources without relying excessively on debt issuance.

The BOJ decided on October 30 to increase annual sales of its ETF holdings to 860 billion yen from 330 billion yen on a book-value basis. A portion of net profit the central bank reaps each year, including from the ETF sales, is paid to state coffers.

"The BOJ has indicated additional proceeds of roughly 1 trillion yen, but the exact amount that will be remitted to the government will depend on fiscal year-end calculations and budget procedures, so we can't say precisely how much it will be," Katayama said.

"What I can say is that such an outlook has been presented by the party concerned," she said.

Katayama stressed that decisions on ETF sales and other monetary policy operations are the sole responsibility of the BOJ under the central bank law.

"Government expectations for BOJ profit remittances would not influence the central bank's operations," she added.

($1 = 158.0000 yen)