The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it removed Toshiba Corp. from its watch list for delisting after seeing better internal controls and efforts to improve corporate governance.
Toshiba has made progress with its bookkeeping since an accounting scandal in 2015 and the disclosure of multibillion-dollar losses in its nuclear business in December, the exchange said in a statement on Wednesday. The company still has negative shareholders equity and could be delisted if it isn't able to meet listing requirements, the exchange said. Toshiba signed an agreement on Sept. 28 to sell its flash memory chip business to a group led by Bain Capital for about ¥2 trillion ($18 billion) in an effort to reach positive shareholder equity.
Toshiba, which was demoted to the second section of the exchange in August, needs to complete the deal by March. While the exchange's decision on Wednesday was mainly due to improved controls and efforts to bolster corporate governance, it's also a sign that financial authorities expect the Tokyo-based company's balance sheet to recover.
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