Business News

TOKYO, Oct 19, (APP/AFP) – Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn will become chairman of Mitsubishi Motors after Japan’s number two automaker announced a major investment in its scandal-hit rival, a report said Wednesday. Mitsubishi’s Tokyo-listed shares soared more than 10 percent to 536 yen ($5.15)in afternoon trading, shortly after the report by the leading Nikkei business daily. The stock closed at 522 yen, up 7.85 percent, while Nissan edged up 0.52 percent to 1,004.5 yen. In May Nissan threw Mitsubishi a lifeline as it announced plans to buy a one-third stake in the crisis-hit automaker for about $2.2 billion, forging an alliance that will challenge some of the world’s biggest auto groups. The purchase came after Mitsubishi was hit by a mileage-cheating scandal that slammed the brakes on sales. Mitsubishi has asked its current chairman and president Osamu Masuko to stay on as president, the Nikkei said, citing unnamed sources. Ghosn — who is also head of French carmaker Renault — will be officially appointed after a board meeting later this year, it said. Mitsubishi declined to comment on the report. Ghosn, who was widely credited with turning around a nearly bankrupt Nissan in the late 1990s, is being given the senior job so he can oversee Mitsubishi’s turnaround, the Nikkei said. The automaker earlier warned it is on track to lose 145 billion yen this fiscal year as costs tied to the scandal mount.