TOKYO: Investors have added nearly US$12bil (RM50bil) to the combined market valuation of Japan’s two largest listed telecoms firms since news first surfaced that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who made reducing the country’s mobile phone bills a top priority, would step down.

       Shares in Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp and KDDI Corp continued to surge yesterday as traders digested the prospect of Suga’s potential replacements.

       The prime minister’s narrowly focused policy platform had made reducing the country’s hefty mobile phone bills one of his key goals. Any successor is unlikely to be so passionate about the effort, which dates back to Suga’s time as chief cabinet secretary.

       KDDI surged 5.2%, the most since Nov 2, while NTT added 3.8%. The benchmark Topix Index added 1.1%, climbing to the highest level since 1990. — Bloomberg