NEW DELHI: A foreign player has expressed interest in acquiring a 49 per cent stake in Air India’s airline arm. “The government has received an expression of interest from a foreign player, but we cannot reveal its identity now. We don’t know whether, at this stage, the foreign player wants to make any information public,”a civil aviation ministry official said.
Notably, Singapore Airlines has showed interest in AI’s disinvestment process. There are reports about Qatar Airways showing interest in Air India. For long it has wanted to pick up a stake in IndiGo to launch a domestic airline in India.
Incidentally, IndiGo has given a formal expression of interest for AI’s airline arm, especially the international operations of AI and AI Express. There were reports that Qatar Airways may tie up with IndiGo. But both the airlines have not commented so far.
The route for foreign investment was paved earlier this month when the government tweaked rules to allow foreign airlines to own as much as a 49 per cent stake in the national carrier. The government has made it clear that Air India will be split into four companies and will then be offered for sale as part of its divestment plan.