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Byline: Santan Santivimolnat
Jul. 28--A capital increase, a shorter line of command and more say for Thai executives form part of restructuring under way at MMC Sittipol Co, the distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles.
The revamp, initiated by new president Toshiyuki Yamanishi, is part of the company's effort to strengthen its edge in the auto business.
Previously at the forefront of vehicle sales, MMC Sittipol, a joint venture between Mitsubishi Motor Corp and Thais, saw its performance shrink during the recession, with local sales trailing other Japanese brands. However, the company offset this by exporting more vehicles than other brands.
An industry source said the planned capital increase would be used mainly for debt repayment. Mitsubishi Motor Corp is now the major owner of MMC Sittipol, with the Thai partners having a marginal stake.
The source declined to reveal by how much the existing capital of 800 million baht would be increased. However, it would likely be on a lower scale than capital increases carried out by local arms of Toyota and Honda.
Thailand is Mitsubishi's production centre of light trucks for worldwide export.