Renault calls for Nissan shareholder meeting: WSJ

Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) - Renault SA has sent a letter to its alliance partner Nissan Motor Co Ltd , urging the Japanese carmaker to call a meeting of its shareholders "as promptly as practicable", the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Renault deputy Chief Executive Officer Thierry Bollore sent a letter dated Dec. 14 to Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, saying the indictment of Nissan had created "significant risks" to the French carmaker and the Renault-Nissan alliance, the Journal reported.

"We believe a shareholder forum would be the best manner of addressing these matters in an open and transparent fashion", the WSJ quoted Bollore as saying in the letter.

Last week, Japanese prosecutors officially charged Nissan for its role in the financial misconduct scandal involving its ousted chairman Carlos Ghosn, who is accused of conspiring to understate his compensation by about half of the 10 billion yen ($88.21 million) awarded over five years from 2010.

Renault owns 43.4 percent of Nissan, which in turn holds a 15 percent stake in its parent company but without voting rights.

Renault spokesman Frederic Texier declined to comment on the WSJ report when contacted by Reuters. Nissan wasn't immediately available.

($1 = 113.3600 yen)

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru and Laurence Frost in Paris; editing by David Evans)

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