JAPAN

Broker to Launch Hong Kong Fund: Nomura Securities Co., Japan’s largest brokerage, said it will launch a new fund today that will invest exclusively in Hong Kong’s booming equity market. The fund is the latest in Nomura’s “Aurora” series, which buys shares in global stock markets on behalf of individual Japanese investors. The fund is aimed at giving Japanese individuals an alternative to funds that invest in domestic stocks. Japanese stocks have been trading at six-year lows, reflecting investor concern over a sluggish economy. Hong Kong’s stock market has rallied this year on growing confidence in China’s economic reforms. Britain will return Hong Kong to China in 1997.