subject: Investors Scramble To Dump JAL Shares On Delisting Fears [print this page] Author: airjordan Author: airjordan
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Investors raced to offload shares of Japan Airlines Corp. (9205.TO) Tuesday morning after reports the government is considering delisting the beleaguered air carrier through a 100% capital reduction, making the company's stock essentially worthless. As of the midday close, the company's shares were ask-only at their lower limit of Y37 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. There is little chance of JAL's stock changing hands during trading today with sell orders outweighing buy orders by nearly 80 times. cheap gucci shoes Prompting the sell-off was report in the Yomiuri Shimbun that the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan, the state-backed body leading the rebuilding of JAL, is considering delisting the carrier through a 100% capital reduction as one option as part of filing for the Japanese equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Faced with such a bleak prospect, traders say that shares in the once prominent blue-chip company may soon fall to as low as Y10. gucci shoes "Some investors are still not convinced by the possibility of delisting, but they are scrambling to sell in order to cash in their holdings," said Katsuhiko Nakamura, manager at Mizuho Securities. SMBC Friend Research Center analyst Mitsuru Miyazaki noted that retail investors still holding JAL shares now include not only short-term players, but also the carrier's most loyal customers who hold the stock to get shareholder discounts on flights. "If those loyal customers lose their shareholdings and special benefits due to delisting, it could have a lasting negative impact on the airline's future business even after its rehabilitation," he said. JAL is widely expected to file with the Tokyo District Court for protection from creditors early next week. The ETIC will then finalize a package of support for the airline. discount gucci shoes Under the proposal drafted by the ETIC, loan waivers by the banks, including a debt-for-equity swap, would total more than Y300 billion. Seiji Maehara, Japan's transport minister and a crucial figure in JAL's restructuring, met with the heads of Japan's three megabanks Tuesday to ask for their cooperation in the turnaround. The banks, which are among the airline's biggest creditors, are expected to agree to debt waivers and other concessions. TALK BACK: We invite readers to send us comments on this or other financial news topics. Please email us at TalkbackAsia@dowjones.com. Readers should include their full names, work or home addresses and telephone numbers for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit and publish your comments along with your name; we reserve the right not to publish reader comments. About the Author:
