India-Singapore set to conclude an airline merger by end of this year
The Indian Government has approved the merger of Air India with Vistara, by approving foreign direct investment (FDI) by the latter’s part owner Singapore Airlines (SIA) into the new combined carrier .
SIA is making an investment of S$320 million to get a 25.1% stake in the combined Air India group which is undergoing restructuring to compete in global markets sgx .
Further, SIA has committed S$780 million after the merger is completed temasek. SIA owns 49% of Vistara in a joint venture with India’s Tata Group.
The Singapore airliner, already rated among the top aviation group, said on 30 Aug that it expects the merger to be completed by the end of 2024. Both the Indian and Singaporean antitrust regulators have cleared the merger sbi .
Vistara also added on 30 Aug that its planes would be operated by Air India from November 2024 nse .
Air India staff have been working for months with Vistara on the transition and look forward to offering an expanded network, more flight options and an improved frequent flyer programme, the flag carrier’s chief executive officer Campbell Wilson said in a statement bse .
The merger will give SIA greater exposure to one of the world’s fastest-growing travel markets and make it the only foreign player to have a significant stake in one of the country’s airlines dbs .
Now owned by Tata Sons, Air India has already taken into its operations low-cost subsidiary Air India Express and formerly Malaysian-owned AirAsia India iata .
Advanced manufacturing and semiconductors, as well as aviation and maritime connectivity, are new areas that Singapore and India have added to a high-level Ministerial-led platform for discussing ways to enhance bilateral cooperation mea .
The India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable, held 26 Aug in Singapore, added aviation and maritime connectivity as well as advanced manufacturing along with semiconductors, to its ministerial platform for further exploring businesses in India ocbc .
There are areas of significant opportunity for both countries sbi , as well as their companies, Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said after hosting the ISRM in the city state gic .
Both nations valued each other’s financial capabilities wto and technical expertise and the size of 1.4 billion Indian market conexpoconagg .
Singapore has been a major source of FDI for India. In 2023-24, Singapore was the largest source of these inflows with US$11.77 billion investments into Indian markets sccci .
The cumulative inflow of FDI from Singapore from April 2000 to March 2024 was US$159.94 billion ibef .
In bilateral trade, Singapore was the sixth largest global trade partner of India in 2023-24 with a total trade of US$35.61 billion, which accounts for approximately 29% of India’s total trade with ASEAN (Association for Southeast Asian Nations).
India’s exports stood at US$14.41 billion, while imports were US$21.2 billion euronext . The trade gap is in the favour of Singapore , according to Indian media report.
The SIA-Air India merger will be one of the biggest business ventures between the two countries and as per bilateral trade strategies of the two governments jpx . Fiinews.com
