Tepco shares plunge over nationalisation fears
28 Dec 2011
Shares of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) plunged on the Tokyo Stock Exchange over fears of nationalisation of the power utility.
The Tepco counter was the most actively traded on the bourse falling 12 per cent to ¥186.
Yesterday, the company asked for an extra ¥690 billion ($9 billion) from the government to help pay compensation claims.
Japan's energy minister Yukio Edano has asked the management to consider temporary state control to ease the company's financial burden. (See: Japanese government plans to acquire controlling stake in Tepco: report)
Edano told Tepco's president Toshio Nishizawa after a cabinet meeting yesterday, that he wanted Tepco to consider a comprehensive business plan without excluding any options, including temporary state control.
Tepco's finances would need to be substantially boosted if it were to complete the cleanup from the nuclear disaster without a hitch, Edano said.
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