Singapore Air will not bid with Tata Group for Air India

Singapore Airlines will not partner with Tata Group in bid for state-owned airline Air India, a newspaper reported.

Air India's long-term funding, which needs to return to viability, was one of the key reasons for Singapore Airline's reluctance, sources told the paper.

For months, Tata Group had been persuading Singapore Airlines to bid for Air India through their joint venture Vistara.

Singapore Airlines has waived their non-compete clause, which allows Tata to go ahead with a solo bid for the cash-strapped carrier, the report said.

Tata can now bid on its own or through its AirAsia India unit, in which it has been increasing its stake and lowering that of its joint venture partner AirAsia Bhd.

"While there are some legal challenges regarding this latter avenue, the group can work around them", sources told the paper. its