Japan Securities Finance Co. suspends short-selling of Olympus shares

Japan Securities Finance Co. on Wednesday suspended short-selling of embattled Olympus shares.

It means Japan Securities Finance Co., which processes orders for margin transactions and supplying stock certificates & loans, will not allow investors to apply for short-selling shares in Olympus.

A spokesperson for Japan Securities Finance Co. said the suspension would persist until deemed appropriate, conditional on market conditions.

Olympus shares were suspended as they slipped to their limit-down level for the second consecutive session, following the company admittance that it had been covering up its investment losses for more than two decades.

The Japanese camera maker admitted that it used acquisition deals in 2007 and 2008 to hide losses on investments from the 1990s. The revelation followed the dismissal of the company’s former chief executive Woodford, who was the first to raise question on the company’s mystified deals.

Southeastern Asset Management Inc., the owner of roughly 5 per cent stake in Olympus, is demanding immediate resignations of board members responsible for the scandal, and has called for an unusual general meeting of shareholders.

Meanwhile, Olympus has confirmed announced that action would be taken against vice president Hisashi Mori and corporate auditor Hideo Yamada, who had been found responsible for the scandal.