The unit is backed by 100 million yuan (US$13 million) in capital, said Akira Kadota, a Tokyo-based Matsushita spokesman. The subsidiary will manage surplus funds and gain loans for affiliates in the country, he said.

In July, Matsushita formed a unit in the Netherlands to manage global foreign exchange transactions and cut as much as three billion yen (US$25 million) in costs a year, Bloomberg News reported.

The Osaka, Japan-based company is cutting production and administrative costs to counter falling television prices and raise its operating profit margin to eight percent by March 2010, from five percent forecast for the year ended last month.

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