The Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has recommended fining Toshiba Corp about ￥7.37 billion (US$60 million) for falsifying earnings, the largest financial penalty ever sought by the watchdog.
Toshiba misled investors by filing false financial statements for several periods, including 2012 and 2013, according to a statement from the regulator yesterday.
The commission is still considering whether to recommend penalties for former top executives at Toshiba, people familiar with the matter have said.
Toshiba has replaced its top management and is raising cash by selling shareholdings and operations in the wake of Japan’s biggest accounting scandal since camera maker Olympus Corp’s US$1.7 billion of irregularities in 2011.
The Tokyo-based electronics and industrial group, which has lost about 40 percent of its value since disclosing an internal probe on April 3, has set aside ￥8.4 billion to cover possible fines in the case.
The conglomerate, which makes everything from nuclear power plants to chips, washing machines, televisions and laptop computers, also faces lawsuits from shareholders.
Regulators have yet to announce the results of probes seeking evidence for possible criminal prosecutions of former executives, including the three former presidents that quit the company after investigations concluded they caused subordinates to falsify results.
Former presidents Hisao Tanaka, Norio Sasaki and Atsutoshi Nishida resigned in July and the company has cut executive pay, trimmed its workforce and revamped its board amid a scandal that widened repeatedly as more irregularities were uncovered.
The company has said it is suing the three former chief executives and two former chief financial officers, seeking ￥300 million in damages.
Toshiba is considering spinning off its unprofitable personal computer operations and merging it with the same businesses of Fujitsu Ltd and Sony Corp spinoff Vaio, joining forces to tackle a market in decline as consumers shift to tablets and smartphones. Toshiba got about 7 percent of its revenue, or about ￥128 billion, from PCs in the third quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
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The National Stabilization Fund (NSF, 國安基金) is to continue supporting local shares, as uncertainties in international politics and the economy could affect Taiwanese industries’ global deployment and corporate profits, as well as affect stock movement and investor confidence, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday. The NT$500 billion (US$17.1 billion) fund would remain active in the stock market as the US’ tariff measures have not yet been fully finalized, which would drive international capital flows and global supply chain restructuring, the ministry said after the a meeting of the fund’s steering committee. Along with ongoing geopolitical risks and an unfavorable
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