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Toshiba shareholders approve 13 new nominated directors to the board

Toshiba shareholders approve 13 new nominated directors to the board

Shareholders of Toshiba Corporation, the Japanese multinational conglomerate company, have reportedly approved 13 news nominated directors to its board earlier this week. The announcement comes as the Japanese technology heavyweight struggles to restore its former glory and formulate a leadership direction that is clear.

CEO Taro Shimada, who presided over the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting held in Tokyo, assured the shareholders that Toshiba Corp would pursue clean energy, data services, infrastructure projects, devices, and storage. He also stressed that Toshiba has elevated its profits for the last fiscal year ending April to more than ¥194.7 billion ($1.4 billion), up from ¥114 billion yen ($836.9 million) the previous year.

As per reliable sources, by 2030, Toshiba aims to increase its annual sales to ¥5 trillion ($37 billion) from about ¥3 trillion ($22 billion), now.

However, several shareholders expressed concern about Toshiba's future during the question-answer session, stating that the company’s management was disoriented, and that its brand image was negative.

A number of potential investors suggested Toshiba to go private as it moves forward with its most recent restructuring plan. But during the meeting, several shareholders opposed privatization owing to  Toshiba’s involvement in public works projects. .

According to reports, Toshiba has also appointed Jerry Black as head of an external committee to oversee its restructuring efforts. Black stressed on his commitment to bring Toshiba back to its former self.

In March, investors rejected a company’s proposal to split Toshiba into two. Earlier, they also scrapped the planned three-way split of the company.

Although there were no indication of such split at the shareholders' meeting, but it is widely being speculated that shareholders like Farallon Capital, Japan's Eijiro Imai, and Elliott Investment Management's Nabeel Bhanji, will push for such a move.

Reportedly, the government-owned Japan Investment Corp., and Bain Capital, the U.S investment fund are trying to acquire Toshiba. Black stated that Toshiba has been working intently with the Japanese government in analyzing its options

Toshiba has been in trouble since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011, when three reactors melted and leaked radioactive materials in the area, which is still only partially accessible today. Toshiba has been tasked with decommissioning the plant, a task that will likely take decades.

Source credit: https://japantoday.com/category/business/toshiba-shareholders-approve-13-nominations-to-board

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Omkar Patwardhan

Omkar Patwardhan started his professional career in the hospitality industry. Having nurtured a deep-sated passion for words however, he found his way into content writing and now pens down articles for numerous websites, including News Origins, spanning the sectors of business, finance, and technology.