The government plans to provide financial aid to Japanese companies affected by rioting or disasters overseas through the state-owned Japan Bank for International Cooperation, official sources said Wednesday.
The plan to expand the use of a ¥10 trillion credit line for Japanese companies' overseas operations will be part of an economic stimulus package to be finalized by the government Friday, they said.
The planned support follows the damage inflicted on Japanese companies as a result of the anti-Japan protests in China in September and the massive flooding in Thailand last year.
The government created the credit line in summer 2011 to increase demand for dollars and encourage the yen to fall against the greenback, using a special account for government intervention in foreign exchange markets.
The government also plans to allow JBIC to use the credit line for syndicated loans with the Development Bank of Japan and regional commercial banks to be provided to small Japanese companies, the sources said.
JBIC said around $23 billion, or ¥1.9 trillion, of the ¥10 trillion credit line has been used for a total of 35 deals, including about $8.8 billion for 13 company acquisitions and around $14.2 billion for 22 acquisitions of interests in energy and other resource projects.