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New Delhi, June 3: Singapore's competition commission on Friday said it has raised concerns with the Tata Group over its acquisition of Air India as the conglomerate now owns two of the three key airlines that operate flights on SingaporeMumbai and SingaporeDelhi routes. Air India, Vistara and Singapore Airlines are the three key airlines that operate on these two routes. Vistara's 51 per cent stake is held by the Tata Group and the remaining 49 per cent is with Singapore Airlines.
Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata Sons Private Limited, took control of Air India on January 27 after winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year.
In a statement on Friday, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said it has raised competition concerns with Talace Private Limited on the transaction (Tata's acquisition of Air India) based on information received from Talace and third parties.
"In particular, Air India and Vistara are two of the three key market players along the overlapping air passenger transport routes (Singapore-Mumbai and Singapore-Delhi), and both airlines are likely to be each other's close (if not the closest) competitor," the CCCS noted.
Third party feedback also suggests the presence of Singapore Airlines as a significant competitor of
Tata Group now owns two of the three key airlines that operate on Singapore-Mumbai and SingaporeDelhi routes
Air India, Vistara and Singapore Airlines are the three key airlines that operate on these two routes
Vistara's 51% stake is held by the Tata Group and the remaining 49% is with Singapore Airlines
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore says Air India and Vistara are "likely to be each other's close (if not the closest) competitor"
The Competition Commission of India had approved Tata Group's acquisition of Air India in December
Air India and Vistara along the overlapping air passenger transport routes (Singapore-Mumbai and Singapore-Delhi) and the overlapping air cargo transport routes (Singapore-India), it mentioned.
"However, the CCCS needs to assess further the extent to which Singapore Airlines competes with the merged entity along these routes, given that Singapore Airlines is a joint-venture partner with Tata Sons in Vistara and a prospective partner with Vistara in the Commercial Cooperation Framework Agreement," it noted.
The CCCS stated it also needs to assess further whether the competitive constraint from other airlines such as IndiGo would be sufficient posttransaction, it mentioned.
Accordingly, the CCCS needs to further review the competition effects of the this transaction (Tata's acquisition of Air India) in greater detail, the competition watchdog noted.
"At this stage, the parties may offer commitments to address the potential competition concerns of the Transaction raised by the CCCS. Otherwise, the merger will proceed to a detailed further review upon the CCCS's receipt of the relevant documents from the parties," it mentioned.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had on December 20, 2021 announced that it has approved Tata Group's proposed acquisition of debt-laden Air India.