Yahoo! Japan is teaming with Tokyo-based brokerage Nikko Cordial and Internet broker E*Trade Securities to deliver online stock trading services to its users.
A spokesman from Yahoo Japan told reporters that the deal is expected to be formally signed later this week and the new trading services could be launched on the Internet portal in August.
Under the deal, users of Yahoo Japan will be able to open accounts at the two brokerages and trade stocks online. The move into Web-based trading will increase the number of financial services offered by Yahoo Japan, which teamed with with Aozora Bank in January this year to enter the Internet banking business.
According to a report by Reuters, the news sent shares in some online brokerages, such as Matsui Securities, lower on fears of competition. The move is also likely to put pressure on Yahoo Japan's rivals Rakuten and Livedoor which already offer online brokerage services.
A survey released in May by the Japan Securities Dealers Association shows that the number of online trading accounts jumped to seven million at the end of March, up by over one million in six months.