Mining and commodities trading firm Glencore announced on Monday it would suspend dividends, sell assets and raise US$2.5 billion in a new share issue as it aims to reduce its debt by a third to US$20 billion by the end of next year.
The London-listed company has been under pressure to cut debt - which stood at US$29.6 billion net at the end of June, as prices for its key products, copper and coal, have sunk to more than six-year lows.
Glencore said 78 per cent of the proposed share issue was underwritten by Citi and Morgan Stanley while its senior executives have committed to take up the remaining 22 per cent.
It also said it would not be paying a final dividend for this year, which would save about US$1.6 billion, while about US$800 million would be saved from the suspension of the 2016 interim dividend.
The company added that it expected to raise about US$2 billion from the sale of assets and US$500 million to US$1 billion from further cuts in capital spending to the end of next year.
Glencore's share price has slumped by nearly 60 per cent this year to record lows, a much worse performance than that of rival miners like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.