TOKYO: Japan’s Sharp Corp is considering having its chairman, Mikio Katayama, retire and also scrapping advisory posts as part of efforts to speed up a business revival under its president, Takashi Okuda, Kyodo news agency reported yesterday.
Sharp, Japan’s leading maker of liquid crystal displays, is expected to reveal a medium-term business management plan on May 14. It wants a new management structure for a business rebuilding with authority concentrated with Okuda, the news agency said.
The company’s main creditor banks, Mizuho Corporate Bank and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, have been seeking Katayama’s retirement because his presence caused uncertainty in the decision-making process and his retirement was considered unavoidable, Kyodo said.
Company spokesmen were not available for comment.
The Yomiuri newspaper said Katayama has already notified creditors of his intention to step down. Kyodo also said a company adviser, Katsuhiko Machida, and a special adviser, Haruo Tsuji, were expected to retire and the company would probably abolish those posts.
Iraq asset sale rumours baseless, says Dana Gas
DUBAI: Speculation that Dana Gas is poised to spin off its assets in the Kurdistan region of Iraq are baseless, the company said in a statement yesterday.
Shares in Abu Dhabi energy firm Dana jumped 8 percent to a 17-month high earlier in the day on market talk that it might spin off its operations in Kurdistan and list them on a stock market.
“There is absolutely no basis to rumours of spinning off or selling Kurdistan or any other assets, and the fact that the company has been studying options for an international listing was announced over a year ago,” a spokesman said.
Agencies
