Trading company Nissho Iwai Corp. plans to sell its new head office building in Tokyo's Daiba district in order to raise cash to reduce its mounting debts, according to company sources.
Nissho Iwai plans to realize the sale by securitizing its stake in the 24-story building, which was occupied less than a year ago.
The sources said the firm's management has begun considering the sale and the measure is expected to be incorporated in a restructuring plan the company plans to unveil Tuesday.
Nissho Iwai, which invested about 40 billion yen on the new building, moved into its new headquarters from a rented office building last spring.
Sources said Nissho Iwai plans to use the proceeds of the sale to pare down interest-bearing debts, which have been put at 2.4 trillion yen.
The company sold its Osaka head office building in 1999 through a securitization scheme to raise money.
The sources said Nissho Iwai also plans to sell off subsidiaries in which the company holds minority stakes and slash the number of head office personnel by 700 people as part of its turnaround plan.