PAL vows to pursue Cambodia airline deal with local tycoon
Philippine Airlines continues to pursue talks to form a new Cambodian flag carrier with local telecommunications, banking and property tycoon Kith Meng despite missing a deadline to close the deal for a second time this week, its top executive said. PAL president Ramon S. Ang said parties were keen on closing the deal, explaining that delays were caused by recent elections in Cambodia that saw long-serving prime minister Hun Sen reelected for another five years late last month. PAL and Meng’s Royal Group were supposed to finalize the transaction on Oct. 15, which was already extended from the original July 15 closing date. “We are nearly signing,” Ang said in a text message yesterday. “[Cambodia] just had national elections.” … If successful, the new airline would compete with Cambodia Angkor Air, which is controlled by the Cambodian government in partnership with Vietnam Airlines, as well as other regional carriers. Aviation analyst earlier questioned the small start-up costs for Cambodia Airlines but Ang said PAL, which has an ongoing $9.5 billion re-fleeting strategy involving 64 mid-range and long-range Airbus planes, was prepared to deploy as many as 22 aircraft to support Cambodia Airlines. …
Business Inquirer Net News Staff
http://business.inquirer.net/148155/pal-vows-to-pursue-cambodia-airline-deal-with-local-tycoon
