•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Singapore. Budget carrier Tiger Airways on Wednesday launched an initial public offering with the aim of raising 246.8 million Singapore dollars ($178 million) to fund its expansion plans.

Tiger kicked off the share sale soon after registering its prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, fixing a maximum price of 1.65 Singapore dollars a share.

“The underdeveloped low-fare, low-cost model in the majority of countries in the region presents opportunities for our future growth,” Tiger president and chief executive Tony Davis said. “We are now ready to embark on the next stage of growth, and believe that a listing will help fuel that growth.”

The company said the move would make it the first budget carrier to list on the Singapore stock exchange.

Tiger Airways, which is 49 percent owned by flag carrier Singapore Airlines, said it would set aside 166 million Singapore dollars from the proceeds to pay for the planned purchase of new Airbus A320 jets.

It is looking to establish new operating bases and airlines when the opportunities arise, as well as repay short-term loans.

Tiger said Asia was poised to be the world’s biggest travel market by 2020 and it aimed to expand routes to take advantage of growing demand for air travel.

The carrier wants to expand its current fleet of 17 Airbus A320 jets to 68 by December 2015 as it flies to more destinations within the region and in Australia.

“We intend to apply our proven low-cost airline model to offer domestic and/or international air travel in other Asian markets through the creation of additional operating airlines,” Davis said.

“We plan to increase frequency of flights on existing routes and expand by commencing new routes between the airports we now serve, as well as add new destinations from our existing bases in Singapore and Australia.”

Tiger, which launched in September 2004, flies from Singapore to destinations across Asia, including popular holiday spots such as Penang in Malaysia, and Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand. It has expanded into Australia where it offers domestic flights between key cities across the continent.

In its prospectus, Tiger said it suffered a net loss of 50.8 million Singapore dollars on revenues of 378 million Singapore dollars in the financial year ended March 2009, compared to a profit of 9.9 million Singapore dollars on income of 303.8 million Singapore dollars in the previous year.

In the six months to September 2009, losses totalled 8.3 million Singapore dollars, which was smaller than the 25.2 million Singapore dollars recorded in the same period the year before.

The budget carrier market has expanded rapidly in Southeast Asia, where Tiger Airways competes against Malaysia’s AirAsia, Australia’s JetStar and a host of other airlines.



Agence France-Presse