Japan Airlines aims to re-list by September

Japan Airlines, the flag-carrier that went bust in one of the nation's biggest-ever bankruptcies, is aiming to re-list its shares by September, the Nikkei business daily reported Friday. The airline, whose shares were delisted in February 2010, will file an application with the Tokyo Stock Exchange this month with plans to have its stock publicly traded again on September 19, the report said. JAL went bankrupt in January 2010 with debts totalling 2.32 trillion yen ($29 billion), but it continued flying during an overhaul that included massive cuts to jobs and routes. It exited bankruptcy protection last year and logged an annual net profit of $2.3 billion in the fiscal year to March 2012. The airline's market value after the float would be between 600 billion and 700 billion yen, vaulting it ahead of rival All Nippon Airways' market capitalisation of roughly 550 billion yen, the report said. JAL's estimated value would be about twice the 350 billion yen in public funds that were used during its restructuring, the Nikkei said. A spokesman for the carrier told AFP that "no official decision has been made" on a new listing.