Electric Power Development Co., the nation's largest electricity wholesaler and better known as J-Power, said Wednesday it will study hiring an outside director in fiscal 2009 to strengthen corporate governance.
J-Power will hire "several" outside experts to form a committee to advise board members on the move, President Yoshihiko Nakagaki told reporters in Tokyo. No outside director will be appointed this fiscal year, he said.
The Children's Investment Fund (TCI) asked the firm to appoint at least three outside directors and spend as much as ¥70 billion buying back shares to improve corporate value and governance. TCI is the utility's largest shareholder, owning 9.9 percent.