Japan airline ANA to issue $2.5 bn in new shares

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) is to issue new shares worth 200 billion yen ($2.5 billion) this month, the airline said Tuesday. "Through this offering of new shares... the company is seeking to promote investment in strategic aircraft that have high economic efficiency, chiefly the state of the art Boeing 787s," ANA said in a statement. The airline said the public offering was intended to help it in "establishing a financial base that is able to respond in a timely and flexible manner to future growth opportunities, aiming to establish a multi-brand strategy based in Asia." Japan's aviation market has long been dominated by ANA and rival Japan Airlines, but this year sees the launch of a number of new low-cost carriers that are expected to provide competition to the established airlines. The new issue will boost the number of ANA shares outstanding by about 40 percent, according to the statement. The new share issue will be the biggest this year in Japan among non-financial companies, according to the Nikkei newspaper. ANA posted a record operating profit of $1.2 billion in the year ended March, boosted by cost cuts and a recovery in international travel demand.e t