Bamboo Airways has found a new investor.

Người Lao Động•17/03/2023

Mr. Nguyen Manh Quan, General Director of Bamboo Airways, said that over the past year, the airline has made great efforts to find new investors who can support the airline with financial resources and experience in restructuring.

Bamboo Airways has now found a new investor to replace the old shareholders (former Chairman Trinh Van Quyet and related shareholders). As the issuing organization, Bamboo Airways has actively supported the procedures for transferring shares from the old shareholders to the new investor. The transfer was carried out under the supervision of state agencies in accordance with the law and with the approval of the competent authorities.

Furthermore, according to information obtained by Bamboo Airways, during the process of assisting in the share transfer, the transferred shares had been pledged as collateral by the former shareholders at banks since 2020. The new investor, in addition to paying the share purchase price, also agreed to inherit and assume responsibility for the principal and interest payments on previous loans that the former shareholders had used as collateral for their Bamboo Airways shares.

At the same time, the new investor also provided former Chairman Trinh Van Quyet with a separate sum of money, which was deposited into a frozen account of the Police Investigation Agency to mitigate any consequences (if any) related to the case.

Bamboo Airways has gone through a very difficult period recently. The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and major events involving senior personnel have caused the airline to face numerous difficulties in repaying its debts to credit institutions. The airline has been able to attract support from several major investors to help it overcome the crisis. For example, Him Lam Joint Stock Company lent Bamboo Airways 8,000 billion VND. Thanks to this, the airline has overcome difficulties, gradually stabilized, and firmly established itself as one of the three largest airlines in Vietnam.

In light of the challenges anticipated in 2023, CEO Nguyen Manh Quan stated that Bamboo Airways has developed a response strategy during its restructuring process.

Regarding its personnel structure, Bamboo Airways prioritizes completing the restructuring process, thereby creating a solid foundation to leverage internal resources and generate additional momentum to help the airline cope with objective macroeconomic challenges.

Numerous challenges and emerging risks continue to affect the recovery and development prospects of the entire aviation industry, including Bamboo Airways. One of these is the financial pressure left over from the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the pandemic, the disparity in the openness of source markets significantly impacted a portion of the airline's revenue, coupled with persistently high fuel prices and volatile foreign exchange rates.

In terms of operational strategy, Bamboo Airways will continue to focus on developing its three core strengths, promoting the development of differentiated products and services, and offering the market more new choices. To create a competitive advantage, the airline will focus on solutions including: optimizing cost management, proactively anticipating digital transformation, improving labor productivity, and quickly adapting to market demands.

The goal is to capture 30% of the domestic market share.

Bamboo Airways CEO Nguyen Manh Quan said that for the domestic market, the airline's flight network has fully recovered and continues to aim for a 30% market share in the near future.

Currently, the airline's domestic flight network connects 21 out of 22 domestic airports. By the end of April, Bamboo Airways plans to launch a direct flight from Ca Mau to Hanoi , completing its domestic flight network connecting all 22 airports in Vietnam.

For the international market, by making the most of the flight restrictions to complete preparations, Bamboo Airways had a better starting point than before the pandemic, being integrated into a large-scale international flight network. From the beginning of 2022, when Vietnam reopened international flights, the airline launched many new regular international routes to Europe, Australia, and other destinations.

In particular, for the European market, following routes to Frankfurt (Germany) and London (UK), Bamboo Airways plans to open more routes to France and other important markets as soon as the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement between ASEAN and Europe is officially implemented in Vietnam.

In 2023, Bamboo Airways held high-level negotiations with airlines from Japan, South Korea, and European countries, which will be strategic partners for the airline.

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