AirAsia has rejected recent speculation surrounding a possible expansion in the Indian market and the purchase of a budget local airline.
"AirAsia has not submitted a bid for the Indian budget carrier, and has no intention of doing so," tweeted Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian entrepreneur who founded the no-frills budget airline AirAsia.
Earlier in the day, a Reuters report claimed that struggling carriers Jet Airways and SpiceJet are in talks with Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd, respectively, to sell minority stakes. The report cited a senior government official with direct knowledge of the talks.
Jet shares rose about 14.3 per cent and SpiceJet jumped as much as 19.2 per cent today, continuing their rallies from last week amid speculation that they may become the first Indian carriers to secure foreign investment.
India changed its rules in September to allow foreign carriers to buy stakes of up to 49 per cent in local airlines, which have been battered by fierce competition and high operating costs.
In a separate statement, a SpiceJet spokesperson said “while it is true that a few foreign airlines/investors have evinced interest in SpiceJet, it will be very premature to comment on the possibilities of any fresh equity issuance to such interested parties”.
“In line with our internal policy to not comment on market rumors, we cannot confirm or deny any of the names which have appeared in the media from time to time.”
Spicejet last week rebuffed media reports that a sale of the airline was on the cards after Kalanithi Maran and his wife quit the board of Kal Airways, the company controlling SpiceJet.
"Mr Maran quit Kal Airways to only reduce the number of directorships he holds," S.L. Narayanan, the group CFO of Sun, the company that controls Kal Airways, told NDTV in an exclusive interview, saying potential stake sale talks are not even at an exploratory stage.
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