AFP - Shares in Japan Airlines (JAL) dived below their offer price Friday, just days after they relisted, as the carrier announced it was slashing flights to China amid a bitter territorial row.
The former flag carrier had seen two days of gains since it got back onto the board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday at 3,790 yen.
But the stock dropped to 3,660 yen early Friday afternoon, down 4.81 percent from the previous day's close and 3.43 percent off the offer price.
The fall came as JAL, which has undergone a transformation after going bankrupt less than three years ago, announced it would slash the number of flights to China next month demand from tourists in both countries plunges.
Tokyo and Beijing have become embroiled in a tussle over a group of East China Sea islands that has led to widespread anti-Japan protests across China and several big-name Japanese firms suspending manufacturing or shutting shops.
For an initial 18 days from October 10, the current two daily flights between Tokyo and Beijing will be cut to one, while the three Tokyo-Shanghai flights a day will drop to two.
Two daily flights between western Japan's Osaka and Shanghai will also be halved in the same period.
The company said it was yet to decide what would happen from October 28.
JAL said 12,000 seats -- 6,000 round trips -- had been cancelled for the three months to November.
Rival carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Tuesday that 18,800 seat reservations had been cancelled on its routes between Japan and China for the three months to November.
At around 0445 GMT, JAL was at 3,710 yen, down 3.51 percent, on Thursday's close. ANA was up 0.56 percent to 177 yen in a rising market.
