S'pore-based Effissimo takes 2.5% stake in Nissan

TOKYO - Nissan Motor's rapid decline has drawn the attention of one of the most influential activist investors in Japan, adding a fresh dose of uncertainty to the automaker's turnaround plans.

A fund controlled by Singapore-based Effissimo Capital Management has taken a 2.5 per cent stake in Nissan just days after cratering profit and sales induced by an outdated line-up, pricey dealer incentives and lack of hybrids in North America forced the carmaker to slash jobs and production.

The big question is whether chief executive Makoto Uchida, who pledged to add 27 new electrified vehicles by 2030, can deliver a turnaround or be forced to make more drastic changes by an influential outsider.

"It really could be all over," said Asymmetric Advisors' Japan equity strategist Amir Anvarzadeh, comparing Mr Uchida's choices to the ones made by former chairman Carlos Ghosn after he arrived at Nissan following the carmaker's bailout by Renault in 1999.

Mr Ghosn staged a remarkable turnaround in a few short years, delivering Nissan's biggest profit by cutting inefficient suppliers and introducing a slew of new models.

"Those were easy options in the 90s and it will take a miracle to turn this around," Mr Anvarzadeh said.