News

Encouraging steps for proposed MAS nationalisation

7 Nov 2014 by Clement Huang

Khazanah Nasional’s (Khazanah) move to take complete ownership of the struggling Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has gained traction after the carrier’s minority shareholders voted in favour of the proposed RM1.4 billion (US$420 million) buyout.

The decision was made during an Extraordinary General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Per a filing made to the Malaysian stock exchange, it has been revealed that nearly 94 per cent of all minority votes accounted backed the buyout offer, while only 6.02 per cent voted against it.

Final approval by the High Court of Malaya is still required, but this does provide Khazanah with some much-needed boost of confidence in its plans to return MAS to profitability.

Following the tragedies of flights MH370 and MH17 earlier this year, the state-owned sovereign wealth fund released a report, which indicated that some 6,000 jobs would be cut, while many unprofitable long-haul routes would be eliminated from the MAS network in order to allow the carrier to focus its efforts on regional destinations.  

In addition, MAS has also extended the contract of chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, whose term was set to expire in September 2014. Jauhari has been asked to stay on for another year.

A new chief executive is however expected to be named in the coming months, with former Aer Lingus chief Christoph Mueller touted as the favourite. However, as reported by Channel News Asia, MAS chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof has stated that nothing has been set in stone.

“What I can say is, we are looking globally in the search for the best talent," he added.

For more information, visit malaysiaairlines.com

Clement Huang

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