HONG KONG, Sept. 22 Asia's thriving travel market has Cathay Pacific preparing to bid for a large stake in China Eastern Airlines, Britain's Telegraph reported Saturday.
Cathay Pacific is expected to bid next week, possibly enlisting the support of Air China, the country's largest state-owned carrier and the owner of more than 10 percent of China Eastern's stock, The Telegraph reported.
A Cathay Pacific bid would put at risk a $923 million deal struck earlier this month for Singapore Airlines to acquire a 24 percent interest in China Eastern, The Telegraph reported.
"There are still a lot of moving parts," an unnamed airline official told the newspaper.
China is one of the world's fastest-growing markets for travel, with Airbus and Boeing predicting a big demand for planes in Asia in the coming years.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
