Tokyo - Mizuho Financial Group Inc on Thursday announced a plan to increase its capital by issuing preferred subscription securities and establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary company in the Cayman Islands amid the global financial crisis.

The preferred securities, which are not convertible to common shares, would be sold mainly to Japanese insurance companies, the firm said.

Mizuho Financial was expected to issue about 300 billion yen (3.08 billion dollars) in the securities by the end of the year, according to media reports.

One of Japan's three mega banking groups, Mizuho Financial reported a 71-per-cent fall in its net profit to 94.58 billion yen during the first six months of the fiscal 2008-09 that runs through March, compared to a year earlier.

Operating revenues also declined 15.6 per cent to 1.9 trillion yen in the April-September period, the group said.

Mizuho Financial revised downward its net profit for the full year to 250 billion yen, down 19.6 per cent from a year before, and its operating revenues to 3.8 trillion yen, down 15.9 per cent. (dpa)