Asiana Airlines and affiliated firms facing potential delisting from Kospi

Asiana Airlines is the no.2 carrier in South Korea but it was reported that it may be delisted from the Korea Exchange. Two of its affiliates including Air Busan and Asiana IDT, are also facing the same fate, according to industry insiders.

Kospi’s eligibility review is underway

As per The Korea Herald, the Korea Exchange made an announcement late last week that it decided to assess the Asiana Airline’s listing eligibility pursuant to the former Kumho Asiana Group chief Park Sam Koo’s arrest last month for charges of directing unfair financial transactions among group affiliates that were said to have resulted in huge gains for him and his family.

As mentioned earlier, it is not just Asiana Airlines that will be examined by the KRX, but it also made the decision to review its subsidiaries - Air Busan and Asiana IDT, the information and communication tech unit of Asiana, for their listing eligibility.

It was said that the outcome of the review will be completed in 20 trading sessions and once done, it will determine if they can stay and resume their stock transactions on Kospi’s market.

It was after Park Sam Koo’s arrest when the trading for Asiana Airlines, Air Busan and Asiana IDT was suspended. This was said to have been carried to protect the investors.

Sure enough, if Asiana Airlines and its affiliates are delisted, it will be a big blow to small shareholders because they carry 58.21% of the airline’s total stocks.

“We would like to apologize to our shareholders for the prolonged stock trading suspension,” an official from Asiana Airlines said. “To protect our shareholders’ ownership rights, we will put all our efforts into getting the trading back on track.”

Airlines to start taking off again as more people get vaccinated

Meanwhile, the potential delisting news involving Asiana Airlines comes after it was reported that airlines in South Korea are preparing to resume flights for tourists again. It was said that flights to Guam and other tourist destinations overseas are being prepared as these places are starting to open and welcome inoculated travelers again.

South Korean airlines will allow group tours of fully vaccinated Korean citizens. It was added that the South Korean government is currently in talks with Singapore, Guam and Saipan for a quarantine-free travel bubble agreement, Yonhap News Agency reported. The government may also propose the same deal with Taiwan and Thailand soon.