Mitsubishi Corp. is shifting growth away from its energy and mining-related businesses after being stung by the metals and oil collapse that led it to forecast its first-ever annual loss on a group basis.
Takehiko Kakiuchi, the newly appointed chief executive officer, said he will focus Japan's biggest trading house toward nonresource businesses, from agricultural machinery and industrial finance to automobiles and salmon farming. The company expects writedowns of as much as ¥430 billion, primarily on its commodities businesses.
"I want to rebalance our portfolio, replace assets in our resource portfolio and build our non-resource business into our growth engine," Kakiuchi, who took on the top role this month, said in an interview in Tokyo on Monday. "Rebalancing our portfolio has become an urgent task."