First, on behalf of the SBI Group, I would like to offer my condolences to all the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and their families. We, both management and employees alike, are praying for the health and welfare of the people in the affected areas, as well as for the earliest possible restoration of the area.

Since its establishment, the SBI Group has maximized the use of the Internet and continued to deliver highly competitive financial services and products. Low commission rates on brokerage transactions and deposit products with high interest rates are two such examples. As a result of our offering of services that receive high marks for convenience and quality, as evaluated by independent third party institutions, the SBI Group’s customer base has continued to grow, reaching 11.72 million by fiscal year-end.

Currently, we are pursuing our next growth phase, which we introduced in March 2010 as the “Pentagon Management” strategy for our financial services businesses. “Pentagon Management” targets exponential growth for the entire SBI Group by positioning securities, banking, nonlife insurance, life insurance and settlement services as its five core businesses, for further synergy enhancement. Moreover, by introducing the systems and know-how accumulated in Japan of these core businesses to emerging market countries, we will accelerate the development of the financial services businesses into those countries.

Furthermore, in July 2010 the SBI Group unveiled a new concept called the “Brilliant Cut Initiative.” The Brilliant Cut method of polishing a diamond to highlights the beauty of each facet, enabling the entire diamond to shine more brilliantly than before. Treating the Group companies and businesses like the facets of a diamond, we will refine each business and shift the emphasis of management from business expansion to the pursuit of profitability, in order to bring a diamond-like brilliance to the SBI Group.

The 21st century is often referred to as the “Asian Century.” With about half of the world’s population, Asia is expected to become the world’s largest economic zone by 2015. To take full advantage of this growth, the SBI Group is building a global investment structure by forming partnerships with prominent local institutions, and increasing investments into overseas financial institutions with a focus on the Asian region to accelerate our operations in the emerging market countries.

Additionally, in order to further promote these activities, we are building an organizational structure closely tied to Asia. In April 2011 we became the first company based in Japan to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and we are preparing to establish a second head office in Hong Kong.

As the SBI Group transitions itself from “Japan’s SBI” to the “World’s SBI,” we will pursue further growth as a global company.
For our valued customers and investors, we will continue to adhere to our “Customer-centric Principle” and strive to introduce more innovative services and businesses, reflecting our pursuit of the maximization of corporate value, which is the sum total of customer value, shareholder value and human capital value.

SBI Holdings, Inc.
Representative Director & CEO
Yoshitaka Kitao