Japan Airlines to relist shares on Tokyo Stock Exchange

Published:  11 Jan at 9 AM

Japan Airlines (JAL) is planning to put its shares back on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, according to a report from the BBC.

The move is seen as the next step of the carrier's recovery from bankruptcy.Some have claimed that the company might sell between 500bn yen and 1trn yen of its shares and, should the sale be given the green light, JAL would turn into one of the planet's largest listed airlines. Such a sale would come in the midst of JAL facing a number of issues, including a weaker global demand for its services and more competition on a domestic front.

In January 2010, JAL filed for bankruptcy with over $25bn of debt and had to be granted a bailout that was backed by the Japanese government. After it de-listed from the stock market, the airline cut around a third of its total workforce while also trimming benefits of those that were left and the routes that its planes embark upon.

Thankfully, it finally came out of bankruptcy in 2011. Speaking on the matter, Aviation Week's Leithen Francis pointed out that when JAL plunged into bankruptcy, it was able to renegotiate already-standing agreements with its unions – a move that helped to restructure costs and ended up saving it from almost certain extinction.

The share sale, which might end up becoming the biggest on Japanese soil since life insurance moguls Dai-Ichi Life listed in 2010, will help the Japanese government in recouping its investment. A spokesman from JAL turned down the chance to comment on the exact size of the sale of shares but did confirm that Daiwa Securities and Nomura have been handed the task of leading the listing.