Minsetsu x Logmi Finance co-hosted webinar (Day2)

10/18/202011/13/2022

For After-Corona

Management of financial results briefing that would change from corona virus influence
What are the successful cases of companies that have decided to go online?

Minsetsu x Logmi Finance co-hosted webinar (Day2)

Date: June 17, 2020
Number of participants: 439
Speakers:
Mr. Kohei Yamada, Public Relations Office, TSI HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
Mr. Yuki Nakayasu, CEO, Minsetsu, inc.
Mr. Yohei Akimoto, Division Manager, Logmi Co., Ltd. Logmi Finance
Theme:
Day 2) Successful cases of online financial results briefing

Background of introduction of online tools and preparatory work until the day
Results briefing session management and impressions on the day
How to hold future financial results briefings

Introduction

Mr. Yuki Nakayasu (Nakayasu): Hello everyone. We will start the co-sponsored webinar ” Day 2 ” of “Everyone’s briefing session x Logmi Finance ” . My name is Yuki Nakayasu from Minsetsu.
First, I will explain the plan. Due to the recent effects of the new coronavirus, many financial results briefings have been canceled or postponed. I think the situation continues to be difficult for investors to communicate.
In the meantime, some companies have moved to online briefing sessions and have reached more investors than ever before, turning the pinch into an opportunity. In addition, it may be necessary to take actions aganist the world after-corona, where online has become more relied upon.
Last week’s ” Day 1 ” invited Mr. Saito of AXA Investment Managers, an institutional investor, and explained, “Are institutional investors and analysts seeking financial results briefings online?”
Today, as a sequel, IR representatives of listed companies that actually use online tools will present. First of all, I would like to invite Mr. Yamada of TSI Holdings Co., Ltd. for the first half , and in the second half , I would like him to answer questions, using the Q & A function of ” Zoom ” .
I think there are still some things that are unfamiliar with me, but I hope that I will serve as a good example of what to be careful you go online in the future. Mr. Yamada and Mr. Akimoto, thank you.
Mr. Yohei Akimoto (Akimoto) : Thank you.
Mr. Kohei Yamada (Yamada) : Thank you.
Akimoto : Currently, there are more than 260 participants .
Yamada : Oh that many are participating.
Akimoto : If you actually rent a venue to hold an event, the cost will probably exceed 1 million yen, so I feel that it has become a very convenient world.

Agenda

17:00〜17:40 Case study

Decision to hold financial results briefing online
Selection of holding styles
Advance preparation
Financial results briefing day
About the future

17:40〜18:00 Q&A

Today’s speakers

Akimoto : I would like to briefly explain today’s flow. The contents of the agenda are as shown in the slide. First of all, as the theme says “decision to hold the financial results briefing online,”I would like to ask them what kind of decision was made, what kind of decision was made before the event, and what is going on in the future. After that, I hope to move on to Q&A. Mr. Yamada, please introduce yourself briefly.
Yamada : TSI Holdings was founded in 2011 , but my paths hava been mainly public relations and IR related up to now since I joined the original SAN-A International in 2002.
Akimoto : So, have you been doing IR- related work for over 20 years now?
Yamada : That’s right.
Akimoto : Amoung your experiences, I think the change caused by this new coronavirus must be the change that has not been seen until now, so I would like to hear about that later.
My name is Akimoto, the Division Manager of Logumi Finance in Logumi Corporation, and serve as a facilitator today. Thank you.

1. What is the process in deciding to go online for financial results briefings admist the increase in new coronavirus cases?

Akimoto : First, regarding the decision to go online for financial results briefings, I think it was the most confusing time when the new coronavirus just started to rage in Japan. In such a situation, please tell us what kind of process you had in deciding to go “Online”.
Reference:

Akimoto: We have received the reference materials from Minsetsu. According to them, around March when the financial results briefing was held, more than 50% of the cancellations were on an implementation basis, while less than 20% were implemented at the venue. Live streaming was 7%, which I think it was a pretty courageous decision to choose it. Would you tell us something about this?

2. Selection of holding styles

Yamada: Our company has a financial settlement in February, so we will hold a financial results briefing in the middle of April. The usual flow is to issue an announcement about one month prior, but in March this year, it was very uncertain what the impact of the new coronavirus would be and whether there would be any problems gathering people. At first we decided to hold it in a real venue, thinking that it would be better to notify everyone by saying “We might change if there is something” and to issue an announcement around March 4.
Akimoto: When did you actually change from the “Real venue” to “Online”?
Yamada: I switched when the Governor of Tokyo issued a message on March 25 that an important phase of the infection and explosion, and as a group policy within the company, I had a notice to avoid meetings as much as possible. Since we can’t even get together inside the company, we can’t invite customers, so around that week, we started exploring the best way to hold a venue outside the “Real venue”
Akimoto: When you decided to go “Online”, how did the president and the executives in charge react?
Yamada: We were at the stage of investigating the method and details, but it is a company that leaves it to the members of the field, unexpectedly, so I asked the management to “Is it okay to hold it?” and their reply was, “Let’s go with that policy.”
Akimoto: Was it a way of, first, deciding “to be held online” and then thinking about the method?
Yamada: That’s right. I didn’t research much about telephone conferences, so it was a way to “hold it anyway” by means, other than the real venue. It was also the time for the full year settlement of accounts, so, to be honest, it was decided to hold it anyhow.

[2. Selection of holding styles] Q. Reasons for choosing “Zoom”

Akimoto: I think you used “Zoom” as the holding means this time. What was the reason for choosing “Zoom”?
Yamada: There were several people in the company who were familiar with these things, so after conducting research in advance, the support for “Zoom” was extremely high. Until then, I had never used Zoom.
Among some means I actually tried, in some cases the sound was cut off in the middle, and in another cases the line was shut down, but “Zoom” is a real experience that it can be used properly until the end.
At that time, it was said that our company also had to put in an online system, and as a result, we decided to adopt “Zoom.” So I didn’t have to go all the way to other tools.

[2. Selection of holding styles] Q. Tools compared and examined

Akimoto: This is connected to the next question, but is it that comparison was not necessary in the first place?
Yamada: That’s right. There were only a few that I used personally, so I didn’t do a hard comparison. I also didn’t have that much time.

[2. Selection of holding styles] Q. Consultation with institutional investors

Akimoto: Did you consult with institutional investors about the event being hold on “Zoom”?
Yamada: It was difficult for us alone to decide whether to hold this time or not, rather than whether it was held on “Zoom”. There were foreign companies and other companies that prohibited direct interviews to institutional investors. We asked some, but there were two points: “Basically, it is better to hold it” and “If it is held, as long as a question and answer session can be done properly”.
There were many who participated our financial results briefing session for the first time, and at that time,“Zoom” was not so major. Even investors themselves had not used “Zoom”.

[3. Preparations] Q. What happened before the event

Akimoto: I would like to ask you what preparations were made for the event after it was decided to be held on “Zoom”.
In advance, I requested Mr. Yamada to write down what happened before the event. I think there are some points that overlap, but could you explain?
Yamada: After the final week of March, we talked with institutional investors and discussed what specifically we need to prepare. Basically, I decided only “what should I do to be able to properly answer the question and answer” and have a minimum image for what to do on “Zoom”.
Around April, the number of in-house meetings such as “Zoom” has also increased, and while actually participating in the in-house meetings as a user, I learned “I should be careful with this when operating” etc. I didn’t do anything special. I was worried that “Is it possible to hold an information session online?”

[3. Preparations] Q. Announcement on financial results briefing

Akimoto: Right around the same time, you were releasing something similar to what you mentioned earlier.
Yamada: That’s right. The first image is on the left of the slide. I was just announcing that “there is a case that it may be canceled”, but I changed it to “I will not be able to hold it, so I will change to video distribution”, informing the investor who originally registered and posting the same content in “Minsetsu”.
Akimoto: Were there any inquiries from investors regarding this?
Yamada: There was quite a question asking, “What is “Zoom”?” Since it was an early stage, I remember there were many questions such as “how can I see this on my computer in the first place?”
Akimoto: It meant that you needed to explain how to use it.
Yamada: That’s right.

[3. Preparations] Q. Number of people involved in preparation and contents

Akimoto: Now, let’s move on to the next question. What specific members were involved in preparing for the “Zoom” and how did you prepare in practice?
Yamada: Originally, we have a section where the Public Relations Office handles both corporate public relations and IR, and I am operating with three people. As for IR, I and the other person are working in total, so it was a preparation method of “taking charge of work that either one is good at” rather than dividing the roles. There were things like preparing the contents, and even on “Zoom”, there was nothing special.
Akimoto: You said didn’t spend any special time on Zoom or online. Was there anything special you prepared for this?
Yamada: In that sense, Q&A is a different style than usual, so even if 100 people ask a question at a time, we cannot handle it. The only thing I thought about properly was how to respond as fairly and accurately as possible.
Akimoto: How did you prepare for that?
Yamada: I think that even today’s webinar has a function called Q&A, but I used an extremely simple method of “please write a question on the Q&A. We will answer in the order in which the question was written”.
Akimoto: Was it the meeting tool of Zoom that you used at TSI?
Yamada: You’re right. It’s a paid service, but I didn’t know there were several types of paid services at that time. When I confirmed with a person in the company, it was “if you pay, it’s okay”, so I said “I would like to pay,” which was one of them.
Akimoto: Did you use the chat function for Q&A?
Yamada: That’s right. On the day, if I actually pick up the answer, I turn on that person’s voice. I operated by reading the questions aloud first, answering questions that the president might not answer first, and then passing on other questions to the president.
Akimoto: That’s the kind of operation that was performed at a fairly high level.
Yamada: No, no. Originally it was the same when I was the moderator at the real venue, and that way, the listeners would be able to understand the flow, like “what question is right now?”. In addition, by me talking, it can actually create a connecting time, so there was an advantage that the president could sort out how to answer while waiting.
Akimoto: It means that the president can also see the chat and have time to prepare to answer.
Yamada: That’s right.

[3. Preparations] Q. Concerns for holding online and the measures

Akimoto: Are there any other concerns about holding the online event? The “Q&A” that was mentioned earlier?
Yamada: That’s right. Also, there is a “Zoom bomb”, and I was attacked by some media at the time, saying “how would you deal with using Zoom?”
Akimoto: Is it a security issue?
Yamada: You’re right. Since this was the first time for us to use it in this way, we thought at the level of “what should I do if this is unsuccessful” if we rely too much on risk management.
Akimoto: So, were there any recovery measures?
Yamada: Yes. In the case of our company, we took a picture of the president’s presentation in advance, and it was a style that only the question and answer session was held live. The recorded content was disclosed on the website at 10 o’clock, and after viewing it, a question and answer session was held on “Zoom.” So, if there is no problem on the website, even if you can not use “Zoom” and you can not ask a question and answer, you still can hear the story of the president of the briefing session, so we decided to use the two-step method.
Akimoto: Did you pre-record with a video camera?
Yamada: Yes. I used to take a video before, so it means that I took it in the same way.

[3. Preparations] Q. Announcement to institutional investors

Akimoto: I think it’s something that everyone is worried about, but I think that there is a merit that if you hold it in a space owned by a major IR support company, it will also attract customers. That’s gone online, right? Did you find anything unusual about the announcement to institutional investors and analysts?
Yamada: Originally, we did not use an IR support company, we did not ask the lead managing securities to be overloaded, and we basically held our own. When it’s irregular like this time, I don’t think it’s that special to ask in advance what I’ve talked about or to use “Minsetsu”.
In addition to institutional investors, we also call the mass media. It was just after the emergency declaration was issued in Tokyo, so I thought that the media might not have time to read the IR briefing session, so I contacted such people individually.
Akimoto: I was planning to ask later. Did the attracting customers change when it was held offline and online?
Yamada: That changed. Since many companies did not hold briefing sessions, overlapping the schedules until then, I think it was a big thing that there was an opportunity to reach those who could not have been met even if they were interested. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to force a financial results briefing to be held.
Akimoto: How many people did you increase in number?
Yamada: We used the method of posting the number of visits on our website, so when we compare the page views of the pages of the financial results briefing on that day, the average is 700 PV, but it has increased to 1,600 PV.
Akimoto: That’s more than double.
Yamada: Yes. The video of the financial results briefing usually has a pageview of about 140 PV, but this time it has increased to 500 PV.
Akimoto: It’s completely different.
Yamada: I didn’t expect to see this increase.
Akimoto: How was the number of people who participated in the Q&A?
Yamada: The numbers themselves haven’t changed much, but maybe they were seen at once.
Akimoto: Basically, those who participate in the Q&A either make a statement or want to hear what they say, right?
Yamada: That’s right.
Akimoto: Is it possible that those who normally do not participate in the financial results briefing may also have participated?
Yamada: I think it is.
Akimoto: On the “Zoom Meeting”, couldn’t you manage participants?
Yamada: I managed attendance in advance. In normal name management, only the surname, name and email address of that person are available, but when entering “Zoom”, there is only a confirmation method for “Zoom” specific login. So when the login name was set as the person’s name, I could confirm the person, but there were surprisingly many people who didn’t, so it was very difficult to confirm.
Akimoto: Did they all match?
Yamada: No, they don’t match. With the chat function, one member ask the person who log in, “I’m sorry, but can I have your name?”, and the person who was connected/matched specifically entered the main room from the waiting room. There were about two or three people who we could not contact, and it was bad if something went wrong, so that person was declined to enter the room.
Akimoto: Regarding this, I would like to explain to you later that “there is such a method”.

【4. On the day of the financial results briefing session] Q. Division of roles

Akimoto: Who played what role? Is the speaker the only president?
Yamada: I am the moderator, with the president and the officer in charge of the company joining the question and answer session.
Akimoto: You mean, Mr. Yamada is in charge of the overall coordination and Q&A handling, right?
Yamada: That’s right. I was in charge of moderation, and other operations such as “Zoom” and time management were left to another member, so the division of roles was very clear.
Akimoto: Did the president and the executive in charge have problems on the day and didn’t know how to do it?
Yamada: That’s right. It’s been about 10 days since I started using “Zoom” as an in-house infrastructure, so there wasn’t much stress in that area.

【4. On the day of the financial results briefing session] Q. Functions used on Zoom

Akimoto: As I asked earlier, the jump function and screen sharing aren’t it?
Yamada: That’s right. I think that there are some people who are watching today, especially those who have to actually operate on the day. In terms of organizing the proceedings, I used the chat function considerably.
I knew the question in advance, and I tried to make it visible to everyone. You don’t know when your question will be answered at a conference call, but in chat you can see your turn. In addition, you ask questions that have not been answered before, so in that sense it will be naturally organized. Such a place was very easy to operate.
Akimoto: What is the function of the waiting room?
Yamada: The waiting room is a function that actually passes you a passcode and asks you to enter there with that, so that you can log in, but after that you can choose whether to be authenticated from here. .. We are taking the one step of having the person who can enter the main room when confirmed.
Akimoto: Is there any other function you used?
Yamada: From the point of view of the minutes, all of your questions are written using the chat function, so I think it was good that I copy-and-pasted them before the end of the briefing session.
Akimoto: That’s easy.
Yamada: Yes. Making the minutes was easy.

【4. On the day of the financial results briefing session] Q. Trouble

Akimoto: Did you have any specific problems?
Yamada: As I said, I couldn’t match the handle name with the list of participants we have.

【4. On the day of the financial results briefing session] Q. Good things and bad things

Akimoto: It’s a very rough question, but please tell us what was good and what was bad.
Yamada: The best thing is that the cost is cheap.
Akimoto: The “Zoom Meeting” costs about 2,000 yen, right?
Yamada: That’s right. The cheapest one costs about 2,500 yen a month. That was the last time. Also, when tele-working begins, personnel will be needed to set up the venue even if it is actually held in a real venue. Our company originally had only three people, so we arranged the desks with the help of other departments, but when it comes to tele-working, since there are few employees who are coming to the office in the first place, it is very big that we got relieved from such stress.
Akimoto: You could save a lot of money and people.
Yamada: That’s right. It was a time when the schedules were concentrated, so it was said by various people that it was quite good for the investors that there was no need to travel.
Akimoto: When I talked to Mr. Takeshi Saito just a week ago, he said exactl the same thing. He said that because he was working as remote, he accessed 3 venues at the same time.
Yamada: I think that those who are successful at work are doing those ways of working.
Akimoto: However, being able to access the three venues means that the opportunities for companies could triple.
Yamada: I really think so.
Akimoto: Is there anything wrong?
Yamada: I think the bad thing about this was that there was a problem with people’s identity verification. I also noticed, on the day, the problem that “Zoom” could not be browsed due to company-provided PCs, especially at domestic securities companies.
Akimoto: This is also what I asked Mr. Saito last week, but his opinion was that Japan’s sell side is the toughest.
Yamada: Almost everyone now has a smartphone, but it is good that“Zoom” can be used on a smartphone. There were about two people who contacted us directly and were guided on “Zoom” by smartphone.
Akimoto: So they were able to participate as a result.
Yamada: Yes. They could enter.
Akimoto: Is there anything else?
Yamada: In the operation part, I realized that I needed to muts the participants all at once. Since they were not watching our financial results briefing at the same time, I could hear the president’s voice from various places and realized something strange.
Akimoto: They didn’t turn off the microphone.
Yamada: I learned that there is a function to turn off all of audiences’microphones at once by actually holding an explanatory meeting.

【5. Future] Q. Next event style

Akimoto: We are moving onto the next. I would like to ask about the future. Will it be held in the same style from the next time onward?
Yamada: Yes. It will be held online next time.
Akimoto: Is it going to be held online as a must in the future?
Yamada: Mr. Saito mentioned last week, but surprisingly, many people said that it was better to go online, so quitting online is not my option for now. However, how many people would like to meet in real life, and even at the meeting with Mr. Saito, he also pointed out that it would be better to hold the final settlement once a year in real, so I would like to consider such combination style in the future.
Akimoto: Is it the image that online is a must and offline is an option?
Yamada: That’s right.
Akimoto: That’s exactly the case with the new coronavirus.
Yamada: That’s true.
Akimoto: On the contrary, if you can’t switch properly, you may lose the opportunity to contact investors.
Yamada: That’s right. Some securities firms could not participate last time, but this time it seems that the number of “Zoom” has increased so far, so they are proceeding in a corresponding direction, so this area is changing a lot. If the whole flow becomes like this, I think that everyone probably wants to go online.

【5. Future] Q. Improvement points

Akimoto: Let’s move on to the next question. Is there any improvement in holding the session online?
Yamada: I was wondering what to do because I had a problem with my identity verification, but I just learned last week that there was a webinar. I think you can almost clear the improvement points by introducing a webinar.

〈About registration form〉

Akimoto: Just at the pre-meeting today, I heard that story, and we are helping them by saying, “At a webinar, we can do this kind of thing.” I created an LP for you immediately.
Yamada: That’s right. The left side of the slide is the whole as it is. Originally, it was sent as a PDF, but it is really easy to create a registration form that is similar to the announcement of the briefing session, so it is easy to access, and if the investor only types his/her name, basically the registration is complete.
Often, even if you do not know which “Zoom” meeting it is, there is a function that automatically notifies you by a reminding mail before it starts. Likt that, “Zoom”can do most of the things that we are too busy to do, so I thought it was a very good feature.
Akimoto: You can also set to ask to put his/her name, affiliation, job title, etc. as must conditions for those who will participate.
Yamada: That’s right. I also ask them to enter the department name.
Akimoto: There, we can create a list of entries, and at the same time we can also create a list of whether or not they participated. It’s convenient.
Will you be holding a webinar in the future?
Yamada: That’s right.
Akimoto: Thank you. That’s all for the first half.

Question: About attendee management

Akimoto: We have received many Q&As, so we would like to answer later. Thank you. We have 30 pieces.
Yamada: That’s amazing.
Akimoto: The question that comes up in the top is a question, “Did you manage attendees? If so, how did you do it?” Is there a way to put a passcode like a waiting room?
Yamada: That’s right.
Akimoto: Did you decline some of the people who cannot follow the flow?
Yamada: That’s right.

Question: Regarding response to Q&A

Akimoto: “I think the number of questions will increase compared to the actual event, but have all the answers been answered?”
Yamada: We answered all the questions. After all, the number of questions has increased. Basically, the media always ask questions, but it was great that institutional investors asked more questions. When I talk to them later, it seems that many people are embarrassed to raise their hands in front of dozens of people, and as it is today, “Zoom” makes it easier to ask questions. In that sense, I think that introducing “Zoom” will increase the number of questions.
Akimoto: Have you ever exceeded the expected time?
Yamada: That didn’t happen. When I answered the questions in a one-by-one manner, there were many people who said they were okay, so I finished at the scheduled time.
Akimoto: Did you receive any feedback from investors, such as requesting further improvement regarding the question and answer session?
Yamada: There were many people who preferred this one. I haven’t specifically heard that this is bad.

Question: About irregular management

Akimoto: I’ll go to the next question. “Have you expacted and had any preparations in advance for irregular troubles, such as difficulty in holding online or unclear voice due to the communication environment?”
Yamada: As I mentioned earlier, risk management, “what to do if “Zoom” cannot be used”, is that we use our website wisely.
Actually, I didn’t have that big trouble. Regarding interruption of communication, it can happen that Wi-Fi is easily cut off because everyone is using “Zoom”, so at least speakers should talk in a proper environment.

Question: About remote access from overseas

Akimoto: Next, let me ask you a question. Regarding the future part, is it supposed that the president himself will participate remotely? For example, when the president goes on an overseas business trip, will he participate in a financial results briefing session?
Yamada: I think it can be done at all. Rather, I would like to do such things personally, such as having overseas managers present.
Akimoto: That’s interesting.
Yamada: I couldn’t make it this time, but it seems like we will be able to dothings that had been difficult until now, so I’d like to try from the next time.
Akimoto: You can certainly do anything online.

Question: How to ask

Akimoto: Next question. “How to ask”
Yamada: I haven’t done anything special, but one thing I try to do is answer only questions that are given with their names. For those who introduce their names, we will also answer tough questions. I think I can have such a stance, so basically, I tell those who want to participate about the location of “Zoom” in advance. However, since institutional investors also come to “Minsetsu”, it is not so limited.
I was wondering if individual investors could do it together, but I stopped doing it because I was told that institutional investors dislike it.
Akimoto: That’s another difficult issue, and it’s a different issue.
Yamada: That’s right.
Akimoto: But it’s easier to do online.

Question: About internet connection

Akimoto: It’s a little technical question, “Which is your choice of internet connection, wired or wireless?”
Yamada: Our company is wireless.
Akimoto: It means that there is no problem as long as it is normally stable place.
Yamada: That’s right. In the case of our company, I come to the office just in case. The company naturally has a better environment, and we generally know where Wi-Fi is hard to connect, so we try to hold it in a place with a good network environment. It’s an analog level.
Also, it seems that there is a time when Wi-Fi usually gets busy. For example, the line is often interrupted after 11:30 in the morning and after 5 pm in the evening, so avoiding that time may be one way.
Akimoto: I often hear people just touching their smartphones at lunch time, and the Wi-Fi speed slows down there. I hear that the work is finished around 17:00 and falls there.
Yamada: I also checked the line status, but I remember seeing the data that it increased 1.4 times more than usual in April.

Question: Investor NG

Akimoto: As you answered earlier, it was said that you responded individually to the question as to “Investors cannot do “Zoom”?”. Probably investors will change, right?
Yamada: That’s right. Our company has no NG for those who come. That wasn’t much different from normal communication. We answer a question once in a chat format and turn on the audio of only those who wanted to ask questions when we say “Are there any additional questions?”. Not all by chat.
Akimoto: Does that mean you used both text and audio?
Yamada: That’s right. Tthe basics are the same as in real life, and we only use chat to make the operation go smoothly. Writing questions is a hassle. For the additional questions, the basic style is they ask verbally.

Question: When there is no one to ask

Akimoto: Then, let’s move on to the next question. “Did you ever have people wwho ask a question since it was being held at the real venue? We hardly ever had a question from the participants, so even if we are considering video distribution, it may not be necessary to do Q&A online.”
Yamada: In the case of our company, we never had no questions until now. I have been consulted about a similar question with someone from another company, and at that time, I said “For example, if you call a bank customer or a securities company and ask them to ask questions first, How about this?”. Then you receive one or two questions. As such, it’s best to ask someone do the first question only.
Akimoto: It was the part that I was talking about at the seminar a week ago, but for example, by doing Q&A in texts, you can prepare without saying any words. By having people from the company participate, you can set in advance what you want the audiences to hear and what you want them to dig into as a company. I think this can only be done online.
Yamada: That’s true.
Akimoto: Even if investors hear that, there is only merit for them. It’s not a disadvantage.
Yamada: We don’t do much preparation, but when you want more answers in the Q&A, I ask directly to the president, saying “Is there anything else you can supplement in this regard?” before going to the next question.
Akimoto: It means that the question will continue to grow.
Yamada: That’s right.
Akimoto: It requires the ability of facilitators, and for example, when holding an event at an analyst’s association, if the analyst’s association acts as the moderator, it may not be required. However, if you are online, you can do well.
Yamada: That’s right.

Question: About lighting and microphone

Akimoto: I have a specific question, “What kind of lighting and microphone did you use?”
Yamada: Regarding lighting, we have lighting equipment that we originally had when shooting video. The one that has an umbrella and illuminates from both sides is used as a spotlight for the president, not the one built into the video camera. The microphone uses a pin microphone.
I did not rely on “Zoom” for the video, so basically the parts other than the question and answer are digital video and pin microphone. The quality is much better than “Zoom”.
Akimoto: If you make one investment there, there will be no additional costs.
Yamada: There will not be.
Akimoto: You can use it for other things, too.
Yamada: That’s right. I also do publicity, so I use it more often there.

Question: Care for the cases you did not answer in Q & A

Akimoto: Have all the Q&As been answered?
Yamada: All Q&As are done.
Akimoto: I had a question, “What happened to the care for those who did not get to hear an answer in the Q&A?”
Yamada: For example, is it cut off?
Akimoto: That’s right. You responded all, yes?
Yamada: That’s right. Although it was not the case this time, there are times when questions are such detailed that I can not answer there as there is no material at hand. Basically, there are supplementary explanations that will make them understand on the spot. I try to make it sound by saying “There are no numbers now, but it’s still going like this” or “I believe we can prepare the details by the next information session”.

Question: About the waiting room

Akimoto: Regarding the waiting room, the question is, “Is it possible to have a waiting room for a meeting rather than a “Zoom Webinar”?” and does this mean a waiting place until being certified?
Yamada: You’re right.
Akimoto: First of all, in the case of “Zoom Webinar”, the URL that I send the person who has intended that he/she is participating, saying “OK to participate,” is exclusive to that person. Since you have been certified when you are judged to be able to participate, you will not need a waiting room for a webinar. If you still want to make it, you can use a meeting.
In the case of “Zoom Webinar”, all participants will be judged in advance, so the image is like a ticket for individuals is issued to only those who are registered.

Question: About exchanging business cards

Akimoto: The question is, “I don’t think you can exchange business cards with participants online. How did you deal with it?”
Yamada: You can’t exchange business cards. However, if you adopt a webinar like this time, you can ask for an email address.
Akimoto: Yes, you can.
Yamada: Yes. Unless you know the person at all, there is a way to approach with this onwards, so I think you still can follow up with the person by email or phone number, greeting and saying “How was the webinar?”.
Akimoto: I think we can just make information written on the business card mandatory for participants to enter.
Yamada: That’s right. I think it’s the quickest.
Akimoto: It’s about time, but I still have many questions. The contents of the seminar will be provided to you as an article transcribed in Logme Finance later, and I will also post the part that I could not answer in the Q & A. Thank you, Mr. Yamada.
Yamada: Thank you.

After Day1 and Day2

Lastly, could you sum up, Mr. Nakayasu, a summary of the seminars over the past two weeks? Thank you.
Nakayasu: Until now, it was usual to hold financial results briefings, 1on1 and small meetings at a real pleace, and it was difficult to go online, but with this new coronavirus, it seems that going online will accelerate quite a bit. That is what I thought by listening to these speakers for two weeks.
As I mentioned earlier, going online will increase the number of investors and probably overseas investors as well. There are quite a few Japanese who are overseas and are investing in Japanese stocks, so I think that such people will come in as well. Therefore, I feel that there is only a pro.
Also, of course, I think it is necessary to support the infrastructure such astranssription and the supports by Logmy, so I think it is good to actively go online, including transcription.
It’s easy to see that touch points are changing from real to online. Originally, “Minsetsu” had only created touch points, but from this week we have made fact sets etc., and we are also transferring the touch points to online. There were several skeptical views that“Suspicious institutional investors might come in”, but using the fact set function, we provide a service that helps you make decisions, such as“this investor is OK” and “this investor is NG”.
There are about 3,800 Japanese stocks, but compared to overseas, it is clear that there are some parts where they are not invested by overseas investors yet. Especially, about 2,000 companies do not have an analyst coverage, so we would like to send such companies to institutional investors and individual investors all over the world. Thank you to everyone today. Thank you for your continued support.

Questions and answers that could not be introduced during distribution

Regarding the questions we received from the audiences, Mr. Yamada answered questions that we could not address due to time constraints on the day.

〈About “Zoom” operation〉

Akimoto: “I think it wasn’t long before the briefing session that decided to hold it online, but was the operation of “Zoom” relatively easy?”
Yamada: In terms of the operation itself, the first certification part is a bit troublesome. However, what to do afterwards for the person who came in is very easy because it is only the task of turning on the microphone of the person who asked the question.
Akimoto: Does the facilitator’s abilities really affect?
Yamada: I don’t think things like paperwork capabilities are likely to be that special. It may be difficult because the moderator has to look at various things, and also has to deal with analog and “Zoom” until now. Sometimes the president’s story becomes half the story, but I can prepare while the president is answering the question, too, so it was okay.
Akimoto: The first time would be a little worrying, but I think people will probably get used to it from the second time.
Yamada: It’s not limited to this, but when you do it for the first time, you’re determined to do it. Even if you make a mistake, it’s normal, so if you make a mistake, just be minded to say “I’m sorry,” then people will forgive you.

〈About assumed questions and answers in Q & A〉

Akimoto: The next question is, “Did you have prepared expected questions and answers in your Q&A?”
Yamada: I make Q&A for the time being, but rather than Q&A, I’m writing the minimum requirement that “I should answer this.”
Akimoto: This doesn’t change online or offline.
Yamada: I think they are the same.

〈About advance announcement of communication environment〉

Akimoto: The next question is, “How was the announcement about the communication environment made in advance?”
Yamada: I couldn’t make any assumptions, so I didn’t announce it. As I mentioned earlier, the overall communication was much more dangerous than that. The lines are less likely to be crowded during the time slots of 10:00 and 11:00. So, if I protect only that part, I didn’t worry about it.

〈About anonymous participants〉

Akimoto: The next question is, “Did the participants fill in their names? Is it a form that allows anonymous participation if they know the URL?”
Yamada: Basically, we ask the participants to give their names. Therefore, it is not designed for people who we do not know in the first place. It was operated manually.

〈About the next holding style〉

Akimoto: “This time, the presentation was by video recording and the question and answer was on “Zoom”. How are you going to do next time?”
Yamada: I want to be particular about here. The reason is that I have a strong desire to eliminate the barrier between individual investors and institutional investors. Now it’s called Fair Disclosure. I gave up last time as I did not expect that the institutional investors would get so much backlash, but at least the presentation part should be able to be seen at the same time. The message from the company, “I will post it properly on the website, so if you want to see it, including individual investors, please see it at the same time zone” remains, so I think that I will do so next time, too.

〈About offline and online costs〉

Akimoto: “How was the cost of the online event, including preparation, compared to the real event?”
Yamada: In the case of our company, since it is an in-house meeting room, basically no cost. Is it a story that you do not have to pay for printing or tea?
Akimoto: For the meeting materials/handouts, we can put a URL for downloading in the chat.
Yamada: That’s right. Basically, out style is that the participants access the financial results briefing part on the homepage, and those who only need PowerPoint see the PowerPoint, those who want to see the video see the video. It’s easier, other than cost wise, because it doesn’t have to be printed.
Nakayasu: Everyone wants to leave the brief report and briefing session materials on the spot and go home. So, especially if you print it in color, it will be quite painful.
Yamada: About 20% of people bring the handouts home even at a one-to-one meeting after that.
Akimoto: Does that mean that the cost has been reduced even in the time part?
Yamada: Does that mean administrative costs for operation?
Akimoto: That’s right.
Yamada: That’s right. I think it’s quite big that it doesn’t take people’s time.

〈High-performance cameras and internet environment〉

Akimoto: “Did you distribute the video using the PC camera? Did you connect a high-performance camera separately and distribute?”
Yamada: Our company uses a high-performance camera.
Nakayasu: Considering the Wi-Fi capacity on the user side, I think the coarser the image quality, the better.
Yamada: It’s possible for individuals, but institutional investors are probably at home, and “One to One” interviews are done online, so I think the environment around them is in place.
Nakayasu: Institutional investors also have an analog environment at home.
Yamada: That’s true.
Nakayasu: In my opinion from the analyst side, I think it would still be fine if the image quality is coarse as long as the voices can be heard.
Yamada: That’s right. So after all, we took care of the sound very much.
Nakayasu: That’s right. I think it’s enough.

〈About the number of PCs to prepare〉

Akimoto: “Did you prepare one PC for each officer and connect it?”
Yamada: That’s right.
Nakayasu: It means that they should mute it.
Yamada: That’s right. It will cause howling. Such microphones are also on sale now. When there are about 10 people in a conference room, you can hear everyone’s voice in one conference room, so you can mute everyone.

〈The number of questions and answers and the time〉

Akimoto: “How many questions and answers did you receive in chat? Please tell us how long it took.”
Yamada: I think there were 12 questions.
Akimoto: How long did it take?
Yamada: Probably 30 minutes.

〈About the time when the participants are allowed to enter the room〉

Akimoto: “How many minutes ago did you allow entry?”
Yamada: I think it was held from 10:00, probably about 10 minutes ago.
Akimoto: Did everyone come on time?
Yamada: Not really. Many people first watched the video on the company’s home page and logged in after finishing, so I actually started it after about 10 minutes, but as a result, many people could come in late.

〈Attracting customers by IR support companies〉

Akimoto: If you are entrusting an IR support company to attract customers, it seems difficult to switch to in-house development on “Zoom”. What kind of alternative method can you consider?”
Yamada: We do not rely on support companies. Basically, it is necessary to attract customers by yourself, but I can not say such a thing.
Akimoto: I often hear that the same people come after all, and I also have a list of people coming, so we don’t need the service.

〈About being unable to view“Zoom”on company-issued PCs〉

Akimoto: Next question. “About the con of going online, it seems that there are some domestic securities companies who can not browse on “Zoom” because their PCs are issued by the company, but what does that mean?”
Yamada: I think that it is a problem with the rules of servers of securities companies, but since the system controls connecting to “Zoom” via the server, I can only understand that it can not be done via the company’s PC. Hmm.
Nakayasu: The use of “Zoom” requires the app installation, so of course we can’t even see it on SNS.
Yamada: They can’t even install it in the first place.
Nakayasu: They can’t do that at all. Therefore, “Zoom” is not possible on the corporate desktop. In that sense, it may have been possible to install the app recently.

〈About the questionnaire for those who participate by phone〉

Akimoto: “The “Zoom” Webinar function allows both PC and phone participants. For security reasons, there are many people who join by a personal phone rather than by a PC for security reasons. For a PC participant, you can ask the questionnaire on “Zoom” as it is, but for a phone participant, is there a way to send a questionnaire request email etc. on a later date?” This is the question about participating by the phone call that we talked earlier. For those who participate by the phone, I think that it will be a questionnaire to be sent later.

〈Online information session for individual investors〉

Akimoto: The question is, “If you are considering how to hold a briefing session for individual investors in the future, please tell me.” This is for Logmy. We are going online and we are holding on “Zoom”.

〈Online small meetings and business briefings〉

Akimoto: The question is, “Are you considering not only holding financial results briefings but also holding small meetings and business briefings online?”
Yamada: I can only reach those who I know for individuals, so I’m asking a securities company. I ask like“With the new method of ‘Zoom’, can we hold it in such a way that our company’s slot is from 1 o’clock to 2 o’clock, and from 2 o’clock to 3 o’clock is the same sector or close sector, where there are many institutional investors? We can hold it with other companies, too.” They said, “It sounds interesting, so I’ll consider it.”
Akimoto: It seems that Minsetsu can do this, too.
Nakayasu: Probably will come. I’ll try around next year.
Yamada: I think I’ll definitely make money.
Nakayasu: Tools are fine with the same ones for this webinar.
Yamada: That’s right. That’s enough.
Nakayasu: I don’t think it’s that difficult.

〈Assumed needs〉

Akimoto: I’m moving onto the next question.“How much spare room did you expact and make a contract for the webinar, compared to your expected needs? There are plans for 100, 500, 1000, 3000, 5000, and 10,000 people, but it’s hard to imagine how many it will increase by using “Zoom”, so I would appreciate any advice.”
Yamada: The advice is that some companies originally have more than 100 people, and some companies do not, so the question is how much your capacity is.
Akimoto: Does that mean that you are thinking based on the number of people who will be attracted when you are doing offline?
Yamada: That’s right. I don’t remember the details of the contract and I don’t know up to how many people, but with the current capacity, it is okay to increase it to 6 – 7 times.
Akimoto: It doesn’t mean that the cost will increase even if you increase the capacity. It’s originally cheap anyway.
Yamada: If you have 500, I think it’s not too rude to say, “If you apply late on a first-come, first-served basis, please give up.”

〈Announcement on briefing session when individual investors are not allowed to participate〉

Akimoto: “If an individual investor could not participate, how did you inform the parties about the invitation to the briefing? Is it only on “Minsetsu”?”
Yamada: In the end, we used a question and answer session for institutional investors.
Akimoto: So, all you have to do is send an e-mail to those indivisuals that had a relationship with you and disclose it on Minsetsu.
Yamada: That’s right.

〈About posting Q&A on website〉

Akimoto: “Did you post the content of the Q&A on the site?”
Yamada: Only the transcription is disclosed.
Nakayasu: Why is this Q&A not disclosed?
Yamada: Since I was originally recording, I was also connecting only the question and answer part alone, but due to an error of our company, when the login authority is passed from our younger one to me, all the previous videos disappeared. That was why we could not post it.
Nakayasu: That’s right. It does not mean that you feel resistance to it?
Yamada: Even if I transcribe it separately, I am collecting it, so there is no resistance at all.

〈About automatic URL distribution〉

Akimoto: I’ll mmove onto the next question. “Is the individual URL that is announced for the “Zoom Webinar” automatically delivered?” It’s automatic delivery. However, you can decide whether to deliver or not. You can block individulas if you think “This person has announced that they want to participate but do not want him/her to participate”.
Yamada: I don’t use the automatic delivery system.
Nakayasu: Does that mean you are judging every person?
Yamada: That’s right. I will not block unless it is a very suspicious account. I don’t know how many people are watching on “Minsetsu”.
Nakayasu: We don’t include free addresses such as “Gmail” at all. Only institutional investors.
Yamada: Is that right? Investors are good, but I will be troubled if the person in charge comes, so I manage it for the time being.

〈About anonymous transmission NG〉

Akimoto: The question is, “About the “Zoom Webinar” function, is it possible to anonymously send NG?”, and it is possible.

〈About URL transfer〉

Akimoto: Regarding the “Webinar” certification, if you transfer the URL to another person, I think that the certification of the application does not make sense. What do you think about that?” With the URL, you can only join from one device. It’s hard to say if this is the answer, but there is such a function.
Nakayasu: However, if you transfer it and that person comes in, you won’t be able to enter either.
Akimoto: That’s right. Instead, it means that you can “take a URL”.

〈When to move from “YouTube” to Q&A〉

Akimoto: “How did you set the timing to move from “YouTube” to Q&A? 　Did you start Q&A immediately after the video time was over?”
Yamada: We started 10 minutes after the video as a spare time, so the Q&A started 10 minites after the video was over.
Akimoto: It was that you would play “YouTube” on “Zoom Webinar” from the next time.
Yamada: Yes. Mr. Akimoto’s advice. That is definitely better.
Akimoto: That’s right. That way you can move to Q&A smoothly.

〈About anonymous questions〉

Akimoto: “Did you accept anonymous questions?”
Yamada: Since everyone’s name is out, there was no such function last time.

〈About approaches to institutional investors〉

Akimoto: The question is, “What kind of approach do you take to attract institutional investors for “Zoom Webinar”?”, but sending an email to the contact points and being registered on “Minsetsu, aren’t they?
Yamada: Yes. We only do that.
Nakayasu: It’s about IR. We are almost the same. There is no difference anymore. It is not a market where institutional investors are increasing.
Yamada: That’s right. The whole scale is set.
Akimoto: Then, you can put it on the free “Minsetsu”.
Yamada: But it is a story that “Minsetsu” can create other business models.
Nakayasu: We have to be free to the point where we connect, and we must create the world after the connection.
Yamada: That’s true.
Akimoto: It’s a story that people who want to meet each other should meet each other.

〈About telephone function〉

Akimoto: Regarding the telephone function, we have two questions: “You can still use or join the conference call system if you use the telephone function of “Zoom”even if you can not participate on the Web, right?” and“For those who are participating in the webinar by the telephone function, how can they participate in a Q & A session ?” For these, please refer to the“help center”on “Zoom”, where you can find more details.

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