MITSUI OSK Lines has announced an initiative to encourage employees to acquire company shares.

The Japanese shipping giant will provide special incentives for workers to purchase its stock through the “MOL Employee Shareholding Association”.

The programme aims to boost employee engagement and participation in management by facilitating medium- to long-term asset building. MOL will grant about 30 shares per employee to association members meeting certain conditions.

Its Tokyo-listed share price closed at ¥5,396 ($34.2) on December 27.

The shareholding association will collect incentive funds contributed by employees and use them to buy MOL shares on the open market. Acquired shares will be allocated and managed for members.

MOL said the programme is designed to align employees with shareholders by cultivating an ownership mindset focused on long-term corporate value enhancement. The company views personnel as “human capital” and aims to maximise value through progressive management practices.

The share purchase incentives will be granted in March 2026, with recipients required to be recorded as MOL group employees and association members between March 2025 and February 2026.

MOL said the programme initially targets Japan-based staff but is considering similar initiatives for overseas group companies. It expects negligible impact on consolidated financial performance.

The MOL Employee Shareholding Association holds around 2m MOL shares, representing 0.55% of total stock issued.