TOKYO: Japan's ANA Holdings will acquire a 49 percent stake in a
Myanmar airline, the latest foray into a potentially lucrative market
that is rapidly opening up, reports said Tuesday.
ANA Holdings
intends to obtain the maximum portion allowed under local law as part of
a plan to expand its network in Southeast Asia by using Myanmar as a
hub, the Nikkei business daily said.
The company -- the parent of
major airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) -- will spend nearly three
billion yen ($30.5 million) for the stake in Asian Wings Airways, the
paper said, adding the payment would be made by the end of March 2014.
ANA said the company had no comment at the moment.
"If any decision is made, we will announce it promptly," company spokeswoman Maho Ito said.
Shares in ANA Holdings were up 0.95 percent to 211 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday morning.
If
confirmed, the deal would be the first in the airline sector by a
foreign company since Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, began
democratising in 2011, the Nikkei said.
Asian Wings, based in the
commercial hub of Yangon, operates domestic flights connecting 13
cities. It will also begin an international service this October on a
route connecting Yangon and Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The Myanmar
carrier is considered a mid-tier player in an industry packed with nine
airlines, including the government-run Myanmar Airways.
With
demand for travel in Japan expected to remain largely flat because of
the greying, shrinking population, ANA is trying to capture rising
demand in Southeast Asia, the Nikkei noted.
ANA's new business
model includes tapping regional travel demand by investing in local
peers. Obtaining the Asian Wings stake marks the first such effort, it
said.
In October, ANA restarted direct flights from Narita to
Yangon after a 12-year hiatus, pointing to the rising number of business
travellers and tourists headed to Myanmar.
It will employ larger aircraft and make the currently three-flights-a-week service daily from the end of September.
source: Business Recorder
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