Japan Airlines fell the most on record after saying it will raise as much as Y168b ($1.6b) by selling new shares to support its finances during the coronavirus crisis. The shares dropped over 15% in early trading Monday, the steepest decline on record. They were down 11% at 2:12 p.m. in Tokyo. The stock has plunged more than 50% this year. “Much is still unclear” about the airline’s plans, said Kotaro Toriumi, an independent analyst. The company hasn’t said when it aims to return to the black and “will need to clarify how much it will cut labor costs,” including bonuses, he said. Japan Airlines, which is seeking to weather the pandemic without any job cuts, will use the proceeds to repay debt and invest in a restructuring plan for the post-pandemic era, it said Friday. As part of the plan, Japan Airlines will bolster the low-cost carrier business and buy Airbus A350s, which are more fuel-efficient than older aircraft. Japan Airlines will issue as many as 100m new shares, about a third of its current shares outstanding. The equity fundraising will be positive for its credit, said Toshiyasu Ohashi, chief credit analyst at Daiwa Securities. “The market was not expecting the share sale and resulting steep dilution at this point in time, since JAL still had sufficient liquidity,” said James Teo, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.<br/>