Sony Corp's financial arm has today launched a $2bn (€1.5bn) float, Japan's largest share offering since Aozora's $3bn initial public offering last November, signalling a renaissance in Japanese equities which have been relatively dormant over the last decade.

JP Morgan and Nomura are joint bookrunners on Sony Financial's offering in which 800,000 shares will be sold on the Tokyo stock exchange. Analysts said the initial public offering will be Japan's biggest this year, and could reignite interest in the country's equity market.