China Aircraft Corporation requests majority stake in Lao Airlines as govt seeks partnership
Lao Airlines inaugural COMAC C909 Commercial flight at Pakse international Airport 12 Apr 2025. - Lao Airlines via Vientiane Times/ANN
VIENTIANE: The Lao government is considering a proposal made by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) to purchase a majority stake in Lao Airlines, the national flag carrier.
It comes as the government is seeking to reform key state enterprises in a bid to improve their operation after years of sustained losses.
Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told the National Assembly (NA) on Monday (June 9) that Lao Airlines is one of four key state enterprises that are undergoing reform. The other three are Electricite Du Laos, the Lao State Fuel Company and the Nayobay bank.
The government is 'considering the proposal of COMAC on a comprehensive venture, particularly its proposal to hold at least a 51 per cent stake,' the PM told members of the NA's 9th legislature at its ongoing 9th Ordinary Session.
The Shanghai-headquartered aircraft manufacturer and Lao Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the joint venture in October 2024.
An independent auditing firm is currently carrying out an audit to determine the total value of Lao Airlines' assets.
As part of the partnership negotiation, COMAC asked to exclude Lao Airlines' existing debts from the venture deal.
NA member for Vientiane, Valy Vetsaphong, disagreed with the request to remove the airline's debt from the deal, saying that if it is cut out Laos would do better to employ more competent executives or a CEO to manage the operation of Lao Airlines instead of selling a majority stake in the company.
No party, she added, should be allowed to interfere with the airline's operation or ask it to subsidise in any form.
She also disagreed with the idea of allowing a foreign entity to hold a majority stake given that Lao Airlines is of strategic importance.
But another NA member supported the idea of selling off a larger stake within a certain timeframe to be specified in a joint venture agreement, after which Laos should be entitled to purchase sufficient shares to hold the majority stake. This process would also enable the transfer of know-how.
PM Sonexay said the Chinese company has also asked that Lao Airlines use COMAC-made planes for commercial flights, a move already undertaken by Lao Airlines with the addition of a COMAC C909 jet to its fleet in April this year.
Acquired through a lease agreement with COMAC, the aircraft, configured with 90 economy class seats, has been deployed on key domestic routes, including services between Vientiane and Pakxe, as well as between Vientiane and Savannakhet.
Plans are in place to expand operations to additional destinations, particularly in China, according to Lao Airlines.
The Chinese manufacturer is also providing comprehensive support services to ensure that operational standards meet stringent international safety regulations.
Lao Airlines' network of scheduled flights extends to at least ten international destinations and seven locations within Laos. This is complemented by charter flights to destinations in countries like China and South Korea.
Founded in 1976, the Lao national flag carrier also has interline and codeshare partnerships with over 30 airlines globally.
COMAC's requested partnership with Lao Airlines is part of its broader expanding presence in South-East Asia. - Vientiane Times/ANN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
41 minutes ago
- The Star
Malaysia's ties with United States and China not mutually exclusive, says US ambassador
Photo: AZMAN GHANI/The Star KUALA LUMPUR: The United States sees Malaysia as a key partner even as South-East Asia navigates growing engagement with China, citing the country's focused and professional approach to advancing bilateral trade talks, says US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard Kagan ( pic ). He said Washington does not see growing ties with China as a threat to its own relationships in the region and that South-East Asian countries should not be forced to choose sides. "I would challenge the assertion that the region is moving closer to Beijing. "Countries in this region have long had strong ties with both the United States and China. We don't view those ties as mutually exclusive," he said during a press conference at his official residence here on Friday (June 13). Kagan was responding to a question about regional realignment in the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Malaysia in April. He said the United States respects the sovereign decisions of its partners and recognises that countries may engage with multiple powers based on their national interests. He added that the United States remains a significant contributor to Malaysia's development, particularly through trade and investment. American companies, he said, continue to play a vital role in the local economy and exports to the United States remain crucial for Malaysia. Kagan also emphasised that Washington is committed to strengthening its bilateral relationship with Malaysia, especially through trade cooperation. "We believe that the key is to strengthen our bilateral relationship between the United States and Malaysia," he said. He then highlighted the US government's appreciation for Malaysia's conduct in recent trade discussions, describing the country's negotiating team as professional and well prepared. "I've been very impressed with the seriousness with which Malaysia has approached the trade negotiations with the United States. "These are tough issues but the professionalism of the negotiating team and the government's commitment to reaching an agreement that facilitates trade – including greater access to Malaysian markets for American products and services – is very impressive," he said. This comes as both countries continue working-level discussions to enhance market access and remove trade barriers. The broader US-Malaysia trade relationship has faced pressure since 2018, when President Donald Trump's first administration imposed sweeping tariffs on steel, aluminium and other imports under national security provisions. Those measures, which disrupted global supply chains and raised costs for exporters in the region, including Malaysia, have continued under his current term with further tariff actions. Nevertheless, Kagan expressed optimism about current efforts to rebuild momentum, adding that the two governments are approaching the process in good faith. "There's a lot we can do together. I'm confident the relationship is strong and that it can be made even stronger," he said. Kagan also voiced support for Malaysia's chairmanship of Asean in 2025, calling it an opportunity to promote inclusive and balanced regional growth.
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
China's photonic chip debut to power AI, 6G and quantum computing push: expert
As China joins the international drive to mass produce high-performance photonic chips, an industry pioneer said the technical performance of its chips will position the country for major advances in artificial intelligence (AI), 6G and quantum computing. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Chip Hub for Integrated Photonics Xplore (CHIPX) announced on June 5 that it had begun producing 6in (15.2cm) wafers for thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic chips, which rely on light – or photons – rather than electrical signals for information transmission and processing. While this is China's first pilot production line for photonic chips, Europe and the US are already established in the field. Dutch company SMART Photonics last year upgraded its line to process 4in InP wafers, and California-based PsiQuantum revealed in February that it was adapting a 300mm silicon photonics line. China's pilot production line, built on the new TFLN material, may have come later but it is already showing gains in terms of technical performance by overcoming a global limit for high-speed optical links. TFLN is an emerging high-performance optoelectronic material known for its ultra-fast electro-optic effect, high bandwidth and low power consumption. But its brittle nature has hindered large-scale manufacturing. 'Establishing this stable production line is the result of nearly 15 years of effort,' said Professor Jin Xianmin, director of CHIPX. 'I began working on photonic chips in 2010 and focused on lithium niobate from 2018,' Jin said. 'Before this pilot production line, we spent years refining fabrication techniques, building small-scale prototypes, and solving critical issues. 'For instance, achieving efficient coupling between electrodes and the optical chip required a long and technically demanding process from design to tape-out to testing.' Construction of the pilot production line began in 2022 and took three years to complete. It houses more than 110 state-of-the-art fabrication tools using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology, demonstrating full-chain technological self-reliance that includes photolithography, thin-film deposition, etching, wet processing, dicing, metrology and packaging – all tailored for 6in TFLN wafers. 'To ensure stability and reduce uncertainties in both materials science and fabrication techniques, the production line currently uses top-tier international equipment. 'In the future, we have the ability to gradually adopt domestic or refurbished alternatives, with some Chinese teams already able to provide third-party maintenance for the current machinery,' Jin said. While the production process shares similarities with that of electronic chips, it is optimised for photonic applications. Unlike electronic chips, which prioritise miniaturisation and integration, photonic chips require exceptional surface smoothness. The team has adapted techniques such as annealing, a type of heat treatment, to repair microscopic surface defects and improve optical performance. Testing and process improvements allowed the team to achieve advanced results: the modulation bandwidth exceeded 110 gigahertz, overcoming a global limit for high-speed optical links; insertion loss dropped below 3.5 decibels and waveguide loss below 0.2 decibels/cm, greatly improving signal transmission. Meanwhile, the modulation efficiency showed a clear boost in electro-optical performance. 'These lithium niobate photonic chips can function not only as computing servers themselves but also as critical components for photonic-electronic integration,' Jin said. 'They enable the high-speed connection of various computing resources.' The institute envisions a computing architecture that merges optical transmission and optical computing, offering highly parallel, low-latency, and energy-efficient solutions for AI model training and inference. With their ultra-low loss, high bandwidth and rapid signal transmission, lithium niobate modulators are also well suited for cloud computing, supercomputing centres, and future 5G and 6G infrastructure. 'Beyond computing and connectivity, photonic chips also hold promise for applications such as laser gyroscopes, lidar, and biosensing. The field has seen steady research progress over the years, but what it has lacked was a scalable production path,' Jin said. The current pilot line has an annual capacity of 12,000 6in wafers and is capable of rapid, low-cost production. 'Previously, it could take up to a year to fabricate and test a single quantum photonic chip,' Jin said. 'Now, we are iterating weekly. This speed is critical for advancing quantum photonic technologies.' China's photonics industry is gaining momentum, with companies such as Hangzhou's Xili Photonics recently securing major investments. Last month, CHIPX was named one of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's first batch of priority-cultivated pilot platforms. 'Our platform is currently a national pioneer,' Jin said. 'This production line can develop prototypes into small-batch production for scientists, research institutes and companies, while also accelerating the validation of cutting-edge technologies – from zero to one.' CHIPX said it aimed to further stabilise its production process, increase yields, experiment with other materials, and eventually scale to 8in wafer fabrication. – South China Morning Post
Malaysian Reserve
2 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
BYD manager calls EV price war it helped spark unsustainable
BYD Co. sees China's electric vehicle price war as unsustainable, according to a senior company executive, who stopped short of saying the country's largest EV maker would scale back the aggressive discounting it helped trigger. 'It's very extreme, tough competition,' Executive Vice President Stella Li said in an interview with Bloomberg News in London. 'No, it's not sustainable,' she added, noting that consolidation across the sector is likely as the market matures. The comments highlight mounting strain within China's overheated EV market, where a flood of new entrants and deep price cuts — many led by BYD — have eroded margins and triggered rare government intervention. While BYD has gained market share, the fallout is growing, with investors, regulators and rivals all pushing for a reset. Beijing summoned industry leaders for talks earlier this month, telling EV makers not to sell cars below cost or offer unreasonable price cuts. The EV price war has weighed heavily on automaker shares, with BYD losing around $22 billion in market capitalization since peaking in late May. Still, the company is seen as a likely long-term winner if smaller and mid-sized rivals are squeezed out, allowing BYD to grow its dominant market share. Li said BYD plans to continue investing aggressively outside China, with a particular focus on Europe. The company expects to spend as much as $20 billion in the region over the coming years, she said. BYD's market share is rising rapidly in key European countries including Germany, the UK and Italy, helped by a fast-expanding dealer network and competitively priced offerings—especially plug-in hybrids. Read more: Chinese EVs Grab Biggest Market Share in Europe in Nine Months The company recently overtook rival Tesla Inc. in Europe, a shift attributed in part to BYD offering a wider lineup of models. It currently sells around nine to ten vehicles in the region, compared to Tesla's four. Li also said that BYD has no immediate plans to partner with a European automaker, a strategy that local rivals Xpeng Inc. and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. have embraced. 'But the door is open,' she said. Li added that BYD is also investing heavily in after-sales service, and expects its European market share to climb further as more customers become familiar with the company's technology and support. 'If we decide to do something, we put all our resources behind it,' she said. 'We want to make sure it's successful in the long run.' –BLOOMBERG
