Airline privatisation plan at risk —Semafor

The plan to partially privatise national airline SAA is in trouble because the competition regulator may not approve the deal, news website Semafor reported on Thursday.

In 2021 government signed a deal with the Takatso Consortium to sell a majority stake in the state-owned carrier to the consortium, which had promised to invest more than R3bn to revive the airline.

The involvement of Global Airways, which is part of the consortium and owns the regional airline Lift, could pose a market consolidation risk and is a point of concern for authorities at the Competition Commission, Semafor said.

The competition watchdog has started investigating the possibility the new company would stifle competition if the deal goes through, Semafor reported, citing officials at the ministries of finance and public enterprises, and an official at the chosen consortium.

The regulator did not respond to Reuters' request for comment late on Thursday.