Retail investors have been buying into Jet Airways’ shares over the past six months, despite increasing signs of strain at the airline. Jet Airways stopped flying on Wednesday after State Bank of India (SBI) and other lenders said that they wouldn’t provide any more money to keep the airline afloat.
In a situation reminiscent of Kingfisher Airlines, which saw retail investors buying into the company on hopes of a turnaround, the number of retail investors in Jet Airways has increased by 11,680 in the past six months alone.
Retail investors are individuals who hold up to Rs 200,000 of share capital in the company. Their stake has increased from 9.82 per cent to 11.42 per cent over the same period. There were 138,000 retail investors in the airline as of March 2019. Jet had a net debt of Rs 7,299 crore as of December 31, 2018. The accumulated losses have now risen to Rs 13,980 crore.
