May 27 (Bloomberg) — Spring Air, China?s largest private carrier, has delayed plans for an initial public offering by about a year as a global economic slowdown damps stock markets and air travel.
The Shanghai and Hong Kong share sale won?t happen until September, 2010 at the earliest, Chairman Wang Zhenghua said in an interview at the carrier?s Shanghai headquarters yesterday. The airline had previously planned to raise more than 1 billion yuan ($146 million) selling shares in October.
Spring Air, set to add 16 Airbus SAS A320s over the next few years, may also turn to overseas investors to help pay for expansion plans, Wang said. A travel slowdown has hit Chinese carriers, forcing the government to bail out state-controlled airlines, including China Southern Airlines Co. and China Eastern Airlines Corp.
Source: Irene Shen, John Liu (2009).? Spring Air Delays IPO by About a Year on China Travel Slump, Bloomberg News published May 27, 2009. Viewed May 27, 2009, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601013&sid=a1yu.Fx3eD2c