Japan's Olympus close to naming new board

Olympus is expected to announce new board members, who will be tasked with rebuilding the firm after one of the biggest financial scandals to rock corporate Japan, local media said. Olympus plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting on April 20, at which the company is expected officially to select the new management board. The company is expected to hold a board meeting on Monday at which it will approve a plan to promote executive officer Hiroyuki Sasa to president, replacing incumbent Shuichi Takayama, the Yomiuri daily has reported. The under-fire camera and medical equipment maker is also expected to appoint former Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. senior managing director Yasuyuki Kimoto as its next chairman, the Yomiuri and Nikkei have said. Six out of the 11-member board will likely be outsiders, the newspapers said. The company declined to confirm the reports.