TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co. has asked three Japanese megabanks and government-backed Development Bank of Japan for financial assistance totaling some 500 billion yen, informed sources said Thursday.

The automaker aims to secure enough funds to weather prolonged tough business conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the sources.

Nissan and the banks, including Mizuho Bank, are in talks to finalize the details of an assistance scheme including a credit line.

"We have enough funds for operations for the time being, but we are considering various measures to prepare for a possible future crisis," a Nissan official said.

Even before the coronavirus crisis began to unfold, Nissan had already been struggling with a slump in global sales.

In April-December 2019, its group net profit tumbled 87.6 pct from a year earlier to 39.2 billion yen. Meanwhile, the company held 1.2 trillion yen in cash and equivalents at the end of 2019.

Amid the pandemic, Nissan has shut down factories around the world, mainly in Europe and the United States.

The Japanese company is also suspending operations intermittently at domestic plants in light of falling demand for new automobiles.

Nissan is expected to announce business reconstruction measures as early as next month.

JIJI Press