Source: Macau Daily Times Author: 07/13/2008
Subject Concerned: Airlines
Air China may buy out shareholders who are reluctant to commit further funds to Air Macau, the SAR's flagship airline that faces bankruptcy, South China Morning Post reported.
Air Macau lost 100 million patacas in the past two months and another 100 million patacas in the first quarter of this year, making it the biggest financial crises the airline has been faced with in its 14 years of operation.
Shareholders in Air Macau include Air China, who holds a 51 percent stake, the investment fund of Portuguese airline TAP with a 20 percent, and Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) which owns 14 percent. The balance comes from Evergreen Airways Service (Macau), the Macau SAR Government, and several others investors.
The investors will meet later in the month to decide the fate of the carrier, which could involve either winding up the airline or injecting fresh capital.