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Qatar Airways takes 5 per cent stake in China Southern Airlines in sign that Beijing is encouraging more foreign investment
- Gulf carrier says it acquired shares in the Guangzhou-based airline for an undisclosed sum on December 28
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Qatar Airways has grabbed a stake in China’s biggest airline, in a sign that Beijing is encouraging more foreign investment while shaking up state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The Doha-based carrier announced on Wednesday it had acquired certain A and H shares in China Southern Airlines for an undisclosed sum on December 28 last year, giving it a 5 per cent stake in the Guangzhou-based company and cementing its interests in the second biggest aviation market in the world.
In recent years, Qatar Airways has built up significant stakes in foreign carriers. The Gulf carrier, fully owned by the Qatari government, already has a 9.99 per cent stake in Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways and in a number of others including a 20 per cent stake in British Airways’ parent International Airlines Group, 10 per cent in South American carrier Latam and 49 per cent of Air Italy.
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“This is another product of the central government’s support for SOE mixed ownership. Chinese carriers want airline partners that will offer more than cash and code-shares,” said Hong Kong-based aviation analyst Will Horton.
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“What Chinese airlines want is to learn from experience and have airline contacts they can call on for help from the mundane to the big-level thinking.”
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