Nomura Securities has resurrected the $1.4bn (€1.58bn) initial public offering of the Nomura Research Institute (NRI), in what is expected to be the biggest equity issue in Japan this year.

The decision to relaunch the IPO, which was postponed in January, has surprised the market, given that the Nikkei 225 fell to its lowest level in 17 years this week. The Nikkei is trading just below 11,300, down 71% from its record high of over 38,000 in 1989.