Sharp and Toshiba shares plunge

Tokyo

SHARP lost more than a quarter of its market value on Monday following reports that the struggling Japanese electronics giant is planning a drastic capital reduction to help wipe away losses. The firm plunged as much as 31 per cent in Tokyo before recovering some ground to close at 190 yen, down 26.35 per cent from Friday.

Weekend reports by the leading Nikkei business daily and other Japanese media said Sharp plans to reduce its capital by 99 per cent to just 100 million yen (S$1.1 million).

The Osaka-based com…