Mitsubishi Motors chief executive Rolf Eckrodt on Tuesday declined to comment on the possibility that main shareholder DaimlerChrysler would inject more capital, and played down the likely immediate impact of the yen’s recent surge against the dollar, Reuters reported.
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The news agency noted that Mitsubishi Motors’ shares have soared since DaimlerChrysler said last week that it may inject more capital to strengthen the Japanese firm’s balance sheet.
“A share price increase is always a sign of expectation. That’s all I can say,” Eckrodt told Reuters at a New Year reception for the Japanese motor industry.
Reuters said a capital increase would be a show of support for the restructuring Japanese carmaker, which has been badly hurt by problems at its US sales finance firm.
According to the report, Eckrodt said he did not expect the yen’s recent surge against the dollar to have a great impact on its business results for the year to the end of March.
Asked what sort of impact he expected, he reportedly said: “Not that much for the time being. The euro is balancing that (the dollar’s fall) and we have a quiet, intelligent hedging policy.”
Reuters said that, at the same reception, Toyota Motor president Fujio Cho repeated his recent comment that the yen was a little too strong at its current level of 106 to 107 yen per dollar.
“I wish the dollar/yen rate would move more in line with Japan’s economic fundamentals,” he reportedly said.
According to Reuters, he said the yen’s rise would not have much of an impact in the short term, due to the euro’s strength and the company’s hedging policy but that if current levels were maintained over the longer term, it would be tough.
