(Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corp. shares fell sharply after the company said Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Gilson, one of the few foreigners to lead a Japanese business, will exit next year. 

Gilson, 60, will step down by April and be succeeded by Executive Vice President Manabu Chikumoto, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement Friday, adding that the new CEO has “deep business expertise and is widely connected” in the industry at home and abroad.

The Belgian joined the Japanese chemical manufacturer in 2021 from French food and pharmaceutical company Roquette. The recruitment of a non-Japanese executive was an unusual move in a country where boards are often reluctant to look externally or from abroad when replacing top management. 

At Mitsubishi Chemical, Gilson has called for the need to decarbonize its business, saying the firm will exit its carbon products and petrochemical businesses. He also has spoken of the need for consolidation among Japanese petrochemical makers to create a company that can compete globally and invest in carbon emissions-reducing technology. 

Read More: Japan Petrochemical Firms Need to Merge to Survive, CEO Says

Shares of Mitsubishi Chemical declined 4.3%, the most since March 2022, following the announcement.

“Investors may be wary about whether Mitsubishi Chemical management is all on the same page” about the company’s strategy, said Kazuyoshi Saito, senior analyst at Iwai Cosmo Securities Co. “There are people within the industry who have said consolidation of petrochemical businesses is proceeding too quickly.”

In an interview with Nikkei in September, Gilson said the firm was planning to list its petrochemical unit, which it plans to run as a joint venture with other partners, as soon as 2027. 

--With assistance from Natsuko Katsuki.

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