JAL listing — sensible, but mistimed

The Japanese government’s planned sale of shares in Japan Airlines will set a record for an Asian listing this year. It will also underscore the impressive turnaround of a company that needed a bail-out just two and a half years ago, and will give the state coffers a handsome profit. But while it is easy to see why Japan is hungry to privatise the company, it is a lot harder to see why it thinks now is a good time to do it.