From 26-29 December Japanese conglomerate Toshiba loses almost half its share price value as investors respond to its multibillion dollar writedown warning. The Financial Times reports a loss of trust among investors in a company that since 2015 has shown “slack corporate governance and repeated disclosure failures”. Japanese R&I downgraded Toshiba’s credit rating from BBB minus to BB. The warning signaled impairment losses on part of its Westinghouse nuclear business in the US that could result in a writedown of $2,3 billion. Investors continue to question if Toshiba has adequately addressed standards of oversight and decision-making. Accounting irregularities exposed in 2015 suggested Toshiba falsely inflated its profits by $1.3bn over seven years. Japan’s $1.3tn Government Pension Investment Fund — largest investor in the world — announced it was suing Toshiba for damages over the scandal.
