SIA no plans to revise China Eastern bid

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it has no plans to revise its unsuccessful bid for Chinese carrier China Eastern Airlines (CEA), intending instead to focus on a potential global economic slowdown that could impact air traffic.

SIA CEO Chew Choon Seng told reporters on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit that its previous stake was still valid and had no plans to submit a renewed bid for the mainland carrier.

CEA shareholders previously rejected SIA's bid, claiming the US$923 million (HK$3.80 per share) offered undervalued the carrier. The rejection was quickly followed by Air China's parent firm, China National Aviation Corp (CNAC)'s own bid of HK$5.00 per share for the carrier.

Chew said the company plans to continue to engage China Eastern in commercial cooperation, but had no plans beyond that.

Instead, he revealed that the company was preparing itself for the possibility that an economic slowdown would impact air traffic.

"Given the state of the world financial markets at the moment, there are other things that engage our attention, such as planning for contingencies," he said.