Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui to raise up to $8.3b

Japan's number three banking group Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said Thursday that it plans to raise up to 8.3 billion dollars from investors to shore up its finances amid the economic crisis.
Sumitomo Mitsui said it would sell common securities worth up to 800 billion yen to domestic and overseas investors.
"The business and financial environment is expected to remain in a state of heightened uncertainty," the banking group said.
"Amid such circumstances, SMFG considers it necessary to enhance its capital base both in terms of quantity and quality in order to maintain its competitiveness," it said in a statement.
Japan's top banks were initially seen as relatively immune to the US-born credit crunch, but they have been badly burned by the financial crisis, partly because they have a large exposure to the stock market.