Shanghai: Changi North? SIA-China Eastern deal could be pivotal
Fasten your seat belts – Singapore Inc is moving into Shanghai. The parties are expected to announce this week that Singapore’s government investment arm, Temasek Holdings, is teaming with Singapore Airlines (SIA) to take a 25% stake in China Eastern Airlines.
While there are risks for SIA (China Eastern is still a standout loss-making airline in a region where profitability has been prevalent and has a long way to go to restructure into an efficient operation), there are also major opportunities.
“Beyond the immediate combination of a world leading airline with an emerging major, the deal is also set to trigger further reforms of the Chinese and North Asian aviation markets. It is here that the real treasure lies for SIA. For China, this offers the prospect of accelerating the unlocking of what is still a closed market – for example the US negotiators recently returned home with scant returns for their bilateral liberalisation plans”, said the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation’s Executive Chairman, Peter Harbison. Head Office, Sydney:
Derek Sadubin, Chief Operating Officer Southeast Asia Regional Office:
Alice Goh, Regional Director, Southeast Asia Indian Subcontinent and Middle East Office:
Kapil Kaul, CEO Indian Subcontinent & Middle East UK/Europe Office:
David Bentley, UK Associate North America Regional Office:
Martti Raito, Regional Director, North America North Asia Representatives:
Korea: Kyung-sup Lee. Email: More information is available on the Centre’s website: www.centreforaviation.com