Jin Air, one of South Korea's leading low-cost carriers, said Tuesday it will list its shares on the country's main bourse this year to raise funds for future growth.

Jin Air has selected MiraeAsset Daewoo as the lead manager for the initial public offering (IPO) and will use the funds generated to purchase eight airplanes by 2018, the budget carrier said in a statement.

Currently, it operates 22 airplanes, including the wide-body B777-200ER, and serves 36 domestic and international destinations.

The new additions can increase the routes that can be flown to 55.

The company didn't provide the size of the funds it seeks to raise through the IPO.

The carrier aims to achieve 880 billion won ($775 million) in sales this year and 1 trillion won next year based on its expanded fleet. Last year, it posted sales of 719.7 billion won, it said.

Jin Air is a wholly owned unit of Hanjin KAL Holdings, which has Korean Air Lines Co. as its flagship affiliate. (Yonhap)