Foreign airlines want a stake in Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines honcho Vijay Mallya today said he has received several enquiries from global carriers for a stake in his Kingfisher Airlines. However, he would be allowed to proceed only if the government permits foreign airlines to pick stake by changing the existing policy, official sources said. “I have received several Expressions of Interest from foreign airlines as the Kingfisher network is unparalleled. However, I cannot give details,” Mallya said in a statement, but industry sources indicated that talks between Kingfisher and foreign carriers were exploratory in nature.As per the present policy, foreign carriers are not allowed to pick stake in Indian airlines. However, the government allows FDI upto 100 per cent in other areas of the aviation sector, like developing of greenfield airports or in cargo and maintenance.Mallya has written to the government to permit foreign carriers to pick at least one fourth of the stake in Indian carriers. “I have requested the government to allow foreign airlines to acquire upto 25 percent in Indian carriers as I believe aviation should be treated as per international norms,”he said.On the possibility of allowing more private and foreign investment in the aviation sector,Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar said that there was no such plan in the immediate future.