Latest news with #COMACC909
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
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
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's Xi calls for stronger trade ties with Vietnam amid US tariff tensions
By Phuong Nguyen and Khanh Vu HANOI (Reuters) -China's President Xi Jinping on Monday called for stronger ties with Vietnam on trade and supply chains amid disruptions caused by U.S. tariffs, as he kicked off a three-nation trip to Southeast Asia in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. The visit, planned for weeks, comes as Beijing faces 145% U.S. duties, while Vietnam is negotiating a reduction of threatened U.S. tariffs of 46% that would otherwise apply in July after a global moratorium expires. "The two sides should strengthen cooperation in production and supply chains," Xi said in an article in Nhandan, the newspaper of Vietnam's Communist Party, posted ahead of his arrival on Monday. He also urged more trade and stronger ties with Hanoi on artificial intelligence and the green economy. Under pressure from Washington, Vietnam is tightening controls on some trade with China to make sure goods exported to the United States with a "Made in Vietnam" label have sufficient added value in the country to justify that. Vietnam is a major industrial and assembly hub in Southeast Asia. Most of its imports are from China while the United States is its main export market. The country is a crucial source of electronics, shoes and apparel for the United States. In the first three months of this year Hanoi imported goods worth about $30 billion from Beijing while its exports to Washington amounted to $31.4 billion, Vietnam's customs data show, confirming a long-term trend in which imports from China closely match the value and swings of exports to Washington. RAIL LINKS Xi will visit Vietnam from April 14 to 15, and Malaysia and Cambodia from April 15 to 18. He last visited Cambodia and Malaysia nine and 12 years ago, respectively. Xi's trip to Hanoi, his second in less than 18 months, aims to consolidate relations with a strategic neighbour that has received billions of dollars of Chinese investments in recent years as China-based manufacturers moved south to avoid tariffs imposed by the first Trump administration. The two Communist-run countries are set to sign about 40 agreements in multiple sectors, Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said on Saturday. Vietnam's top leader To Lam in an article published on Monday on state media said Hanoi wanted to boost cooperation in defence, security and infrastructure, especially on rail links. It was unclear whether the agreements would be binding and entail financial commitments. Vietnam has agreed to use Chinese loans to build new railways between the two countries, in a major confidence-building step that would boost bilateral trade and connections. However, no loan agreement has yet been announced. Beijing is also seeking Vietnam's approval for its COMAC planes, which have so far struggled to find foreign buyers. On Sunday, Vietnam's budget airline VietJet and COMAC signed a memorandum of understanding in Hanoi, according to an invitation to the event seen by Reuters. One COMAC C909 regional plane with Vietjet's livery and the logo of China's Chengdu Airlines was parked on Monday at Hanoi international airport. The content of the agreement has not been announced yet, but Reuters reported in past weeks that under a draft deal, Vietjet would lease two COMAC C909 planes, operated by crew from Chengdu Airlines, on two domestic routes. Despite strong economic ties, tensions frequently surface between the countries over contested boundaries in the South China Sea. Vietnam's concessions to the U.S. to avoid tariffs may also irritate Beijing, as they include the deployment of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communication service in the Southeast Asian nation, in addition to the crackdown on some trade with China over possible fraud on rules of origin. Vietnam, in recent months, has also imposed anti-dumping duties on several Chinese steel products and ended a tax waiver for low-value parcels in a move that government officials described as meant to reduce the inflow of cheap Chinese goods. The two other countries on Xi's Southeast Asia itinerary, Cambodia and Malaysia, are facing U.S. duties of 49% and 24%, respectively, and have already begun reaching out to the U.S. to seek a reprieve.
