Trading in Malaysia Airlines shares to be suspended Dec 15

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Trading in shares of Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) will be suspended from Dec 15, the first step towards the struggling airline's delisting from the stock exchange as part of a government-led restructuring.

State fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the majority shareholder in MAS, plans to take the airline private by the end of the year. This is part of a 6-billion-ringgit ($1.8 billion) restructuring aimed at returning the carrier to profit within three years of the de-listing.

MAS recorded its worst quarterly loss since late 2011 in the third quarter as passenger numbers and yields dropped further after the loss of two jets in separate incidents this year .

Khazanah has already said it would replace MAS with a new company called Malaysia Airlines Bhd, and would make a key announcement on the leadership of the new company by this month..

(Reporting By Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah; Editing by Miral Fahmy)