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Lao Airlines seeking strategic investors
June 30th 2017
Vientiane-headquartered Lao Airlines is looking for a foreign direct investor, Laotian government spokesman, Chaleun Yiapaoher, told the Vientiane Times this week. Read More »
The Vientiane government clarified it was not looking to dispose of the carrier as a whole but wanted to sell a holding at or below 49%. "The government’s improvement intention is not to sell, but to seek overseas airline shareholders,” he said.
The report claims several unspecified airline investors have expressed an interest in the carrier and are conducting due diligence of the company.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has said it was looking to make strategic investments in Indochina following its acquisition of 8.8% of Vietnam Airlines. ANA had invested in Myanmar but withdrew from the project because of cutthroat competition and low yields.
Lao Airlines has four A320ceo, three ATR72-600s and three ATR72-500s. It purchased two A320s directly from Airbus and leases the other two. The carrier flies from Vientiane to 20 destinations, including Changsha, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Kunming, Singapore, Busan, Seoul and Bangkok. It launched to Chongqing this Friday. The airline is subordinate to the Laotian Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
