At a board of directors meeting held yesterday 27 November, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation decided to underwrite the full issue of 172,413,793 new shares to be made by Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) in order to support its operations in Australia. MMC will pay AUD 172.4million (approximately 10 billion yen) for the new shares on 18 December.

The new share issue will bring MMAL's paid in capital up to AUD 279.3 million and will raise MMC's equity share in its Australian subsidiary from 60% to 88%.

MMAL has recently been engaged in concerted efforts to improve profitability and raise op-erating and other efficiencies. Last year, MMAL embarked on a major restructuring of its opera-tions, and this year it has replaced its management team, brought in a new president, implemented organizational reforms and made substantial cuts in payroll. The increase in paid-in capital will see a further improvement in the financial health of the company.

MMC decided to make the capital increase because of MMAL's position as a unit vital to the company's global business strategy, and in order to make MMAL more competitive in international markets, to bring greater stability to company profits, and to strengthen the Mitsubishi brand on the Australian market.

Forecasts for the 2000 calendar year at MMAL include: production volume of 38,000 units; sales volume on the domestic Australian market of 75,000 units, imports included, for a 9.6% market share; and export shipments of around 12,000 units.

1. New share issue details
   
   

   i.	Number of new shares:	172,413,793
   ii.	Subscription price:	AUD 1.00/share (par value)
   iii.	Total issue amount:	AUD 172,413,793 (approximately 10 billion yen; AUD 1 = 58 yen)
   iv.	Payment date:	18 December 2000



2. Shareholdings after capital increase
   
   

   	Before increase	After increase
   MMC	44,390,826 (60%)	216,804,619 (88%)
   Mitsubishi Corporation	29,593,884 (40%)	29,593,884 (12%)
   Total	73,984,710	246,398,503