Kmart may be delisted

Kmart Corp, the largest US retailer to file for bankruptcy, said the New York Stock Exchange has told the company that its stock may be delisted within six months. Kmart received the notification this week, spokesman Jack Ferry said. The company's shares have had an average price of less than US$1 the last 30 days, a violation of exchange rules, the company said in a statement. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, has six months to get its 30-day average share price over US$1. The stock, which fell US$0.02 to US$0.79, closed above US$1 five times last month. Kmart said in a statement it is confident the company's shares can be traded elsewhere in the event they are delisted from the exchange. Kmart, based in Troy, Michigan, has said it plans to emerge from bankruptcy in mid-2003. The filing came after a 10-year struggle to compete with rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which used its larger size and distribution network to get lower prices from suppliers.