SIA closely watching Virgin Australia developments

SIA said it’s “closely” monitoring developments at Virgin Australia after the carrier’s biggest shareholder Air NZ said it may sell its stake. Virgin Australia is almost equally owned by Air NZ, Etihad Airways and SIA. Air NZ has said it’s considering an exit, triggering speculation SIA may snap up the stake to stop an unwelcome foreign airline muscling in. “We are watching closely what is going on,” SIA CE Goh Choon Phong said Friday. “The Australian market is very important.” Etihad hasn’t publicly said how it views potential changes among Virgin Australia’s largest stakeholders and Air NZ hasn’t commented on its stake since saying March 30 it might put it up for sale. The carrier’s 26% holding is worth about US$184m at current prices. The bigger question is whether the stock is worth buying after years of meagre returns. <br/>