SEPANG: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), which is the third largest airport operator in the world by passenger size, plans to expand its presence abroad and may acquire some airports in India to ride on strong air travel demand in Asia.
Its managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the board has approved its fourth pillar strategic plan to expand internationally by acquiring new airports as well as getting more services-related business.
"The strategy is to tap intra-Asia air travel market which currently generated the highest passenger traffic in the world.
"We are looking at a few opportunities. Sometimes it is not just about one-to-one airport but basket of airports... And acquiring airports is not going to be through the normal tendering process.
"It is about making representation of capabilities, synergies and value creation as well as whether we can work hand in hand with local partners," he told reporters here at the company's annual general meeting.
Badlisham said India's airport market is opening up and currently enticing investors to look at it.
"Last year, India announced 50 secondary airports to be put into the market. So now they are soliciting whether we should do a basket of airports. They are not sure and really asking how they should go about this.
"Some of us are placing bids for it and we are asked to take mostly brownfield airports and upgrade them. I am not sure whether we are keen on greenfield airports," he said.
MAHB currently owns 11 per cent stake in the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad, India.
Meanwhile, Badlisham said it expects passengers growth rate of 6.8 per cent this year for the local market.
"International and domestic passengers that come to Malaysia is now 50:50, which is the first. We used to get more domestic passengers than the international ones in our airports but now the growth trend looks to be higher for the international passengers."he said.