TOKYA, Nov 16: Embattled Yamaichi Securities Co Ltd, whose share price plummeted to critical levels last week, said on Sunday that it is considering a restructuring plan which would split the group into three entities.

It said it could also shut down some of its overseas operations and reduce staff.

"In order to help rationalise our business operations, we are now considering splitting our business, slimming down our international operations and cutting staff numbers," a senior Yamaichi official told Reuters on Sunday.

He added that all three ideas were still being discussed, and no definite plans had been made yet.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on Sunday that the three entities would be a specialised wholesale service for corporate clients, retail service for individual customers and a company in charge of administrative management.

Yamaichi, the smallest and the most financially troubled ofJapan's "Big Four" broke-rage houses, will become the first securities company here to split its business operations.

The restructuring being considered includes a gradual withdrawal from unprofitable overseas businesses, mainly in Europe and the United States, the Yamaichi official said.

It also includes cutting the brokerage's total employees, which stood at 7,484 as of end-September, by about a third to 5,000, mostly by attrition, the official said.

He gave no timetable for staff reductions, but the Nihon Keizai said the cuts will be made by end-March 2000.

On Friday, shares of Yamaichi hit a record low of 96 yen before ending down 18.7 per cent at 100 yen.

Yamaichi shares have lost more than half their value since November 5, when they closed at 228 yen, and are down more than 80 per cent from the beginning of the year.

The brokerage plunged into the red on a pre-tax basis for the April-September first half of fiscal 1997.

And its earnings are expected to worsen further if finance ministry penalties are imposed on it later this year in connection with the firm's alleged payoff to a corporate racketeer.

Rumours over Yamaichi's financial health have been swirling in the markets since late last week. The spark came about when Moody's Investors Service placed Yamaichi's bond rating and other ratings under review for a possible downgrade.

Yamaichi's rating could become non-investment, or junk-bond grade, if Moody's downgrades it further.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.