UPDATE 2-Tokyo bourse says to list first gold ETF

(Recasts throughout, adds comments)

By Miho Yoshikawa

TOKYO, June 13 (Reuters) - Japan's largest bourse plans to launch the nation's first bullion-backed, gold exchange-traded fund on June 30, in a bid to draw more investors and help enhance Tokyo as a financial centre.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange [TSE.UL] said on Friday that it will offer the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, which is sponsored by a subsidiary of the World Gold Council and whose marketing agent is State Street Global Markets (STT.N).

It is currently traded on the New York Stock Exchange as well as bourses in Mexico and Singapore.

The Tokyo bourse has been studying the possibility of listing such ETFs as a means of offering a broader variety of listed financial products and attract more investors.

Friday's move was welcomed by Japanese market participants.

"Many investors have been waiting for this launch for a while. It will draw a lot of attention from investors," said Tatsuo Kageyama, an analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management.

The Tokyo bourse had been waiting for a new legal framework. A bill passed by Japan's parliament last week allowed for the creation of ETFs for commodities, and made it possible for banks and other firms to engage in emissions trading.

"It's difficult to tell whether this (the ETF) will be an instantaneous hit product or not, but the launch in Japan will provide overall support for the market," said Kageyama.

He said the ETF could draw strong interest from both retail and institutional investors.

Japanese investors, keen to diversify their portfolios from conventional stocks and bonds, have been searching for other financial instruments that will help bring in higher returns.

However, recent declines in global bond prices have limited their investments in the risky commodities market.

"ETFs, which are backed by physical gold, should attract demand, but investors may not be able to take a large risk investing in commodities when bond prices are falling sharply around the world," an analyst at a Japanese trading house said.

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