Valuair Ltd, the Singapore-based budget carrier, plans to list
itself in the stock exchange within the next two years to raise
funds for its future expansion, the airline's flight executive
officer said yesterday.
"We hope to offer an IPO in 2007-2008 should our 3-year record
remained good," Mr Sim Kay Wee said in an interview with Dow Jones
Newswires.
He also said that the airline is expected to be profitable before
March 2006.
The funds raised will enable Valuair to add new planes to its fleet
as well as fly to destinations further away than the current ones,
Mr Sim said.
The airline now flies twice daily to Bangkok and Hong Kong and once
daily to Jakarta and Perth in Western Australia.
Valuair which began commercial operations in May last year, is
among the three budget carriers which started flying last
year.
Valuair plans to add two more Airbus A330s or A340 and two
Airbus A320s to its existing fleet.
"The long-haul aircraft will enable us to serve destinations seven
to eight hours away, such as China, Japan, India, Pakistan and the
Middle East," Mr Sim added.
"Flights to Eastern Australia, China and Japan are expected to be
launched sometime in October or November this year," Mr Sim
said.
Copyright. Berita Harian -
Wednesday, March 23rd 2005.