Japan's Rakuten says to raise US$1.5b by issuing new shares

[TOKYO] Japanese online retailer Rakuten Inc said on Thursday it would issue new shares to raise about 188 billion yen (S$2 billion), using 90 per cent of the proceeds for debt repayment.

Rakuten said in a statement it would issue about 100 million new shares, boosting the number of its shares by 7.5 per cent.

Shares in Rakuten were down nearly 6 per cent in early morning trade.

REUTERS