Qantas Group, which in July made its shareholding in Pacific Airlines 18 percent, intends to finalize its entire investment over the next two years to ultimately hold 30 percent of Vietnam's second largest carrier, the Australian airline's officials said here Wednesday.
An initial investment agreement was inked by Qantas, one of the world's leading airlines and one of the strongest brands in Australia, in April with State Capital Investment Corporation ( SCIC), the investment holding arm of the Vietnamese government. Qantas' 18 percent holding equates to 30 million U.S. dollars with a planned total investment of 50 million dollars through a 30- percent holding.
"The initial strategy is to reposition Pacific Airlines as Vietnam's only low-cost carrier to enable its future expansion both within Vietnam and in the future internationally, through short-haul intra Asia services," said Geoff Dixon, Qantas chief executive officer (CEO), who arrived in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday.
Qantas Group is to work with Pacific Airlines and investment partner SCIC to implement an agreed business plan for the carrier which currently operates a fleet of single-class B737-400 aircraft on domestic routes in Vietnam.
Alan Joyce, CEO of Jetstar, a low fares airline and a fully- owned subsidiary of Qantas Airways, said the investment would support Jetstar's pan-Asia growth strategy and help enable Qantas Group to extend its reach in the fast-growing Asian region. Jetstar launched its first flights between Sydney and Ho Chi Minh City last November.
The CEOs of Qantas, Jetstar and Pacific Airlines are expected to have a formal meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung in capital Hanoi on Thursday.
Vietnam's aviation sector served over 6.4 million domestic and foreign passengers and 97,500 tons of cargoes in the first nine months of this year, registering year-on-year rise of 15.9 percent and year-on-year drop of 1.2 percent, respectively, according to the General Statistics Office.
Source: Xinhua
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