Vietravel sells majority stake in airline

Tourism company Vietravel has sold a 55.58 percent stake in Vietravel Airlines to an unspecified investor as it seeks more funding amid Covid financial pressures.

“Vietravel is no longer the parent company of Vietravel Airlines,” it stated recently.

In a filing last month, Vietravel revealed it held a 99.5 percent stake in the carrier.

Chairman of the leading tourism firm Nguyen Quoc Ky said in early May that selling a stake in Vietravel Airlines was part of a plan to restructure Vietravel into a holding company.

He called for investors to fund the airline.

As the airline only began to operate this year, it is still recording losses, which could affect Vietravel’s business figures, which are also low due to Covid-19, the company stated.

Vietravel posted a loss of VND293.3 billion ($12.78 million) in the first half this year, tripling year-on-year.

Its stock is limited to trading on Fridays due to its delay in publishing results.