The Italian government's decision to sell its stake in Alitalia SpA to Air France-KLM Group was met with threats of protests by unions and some politicians and was denounced as a "surrender" by the losing bidder, Air One SpA.
"Italy and the air transport industry, a strategic national sector, can't surrender in this way to a large international group that is making off with rich pieces of our market," Carlo Toto, founder and chairman of Air One, said in an e-mailed statement on Friday.
Italian Finance Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa on Friday said the government had chosen Air France over Air One to enter into exclusive talks to sell its 49.9 percent stake in Alitalia, which is losing more than 1 million euros (US$1.47 million) a day. The decision ends a yearlong sales process aimed at saving the carrier from bankruptcy.
Air France has offered to buy the stake through a share swap that values Rome-based Alitalia at 486 million euros, or 0.35 euros a share, less than half its market price. Air One offered 0.01 euro a share for Alitalia, which has about 1.2 billion euros of debt -- more than its current market value.
Alitalia shares rose 8.3 percent yesterday to 0.8 euros each in Milan, valuing the company at 1.1 billion euros. The stock has dropped 24 percent this year.
The Air France offer backed Alitalia Chairman Maurizio Prato's plan to end the carrier's two-hub strategy and shift flights from Milan's Malpensa Airport to Rome's Fiumicino. That proposal has triggered howls of opposition from unions and politicians in the country's industrial north concerned about a loss of jobs and influence in the region.
`Will Get a War'
The decision will unleash "the mother of all battles," said the Northern League, a regional party and a key ally in former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's government, echoing the phrase late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein used before the first Gulf War.
"The governor has chosen Air France and has decided to sell out the country and the north of Italy," Roberto Calderoli, a senior party official and former reforms minister under Berlusconi said in a statement on the Northern League's Web site. "Well, if they want a war they will get a war."
Roberto Formigoni, head of the regional government of Lombardia where the Milan airport is located, called the government's decision "shameful" and said in a statement late on Friday that "we will not shy away from a political and civil battle to defend the economic and social interests of our people."
Alitalia's main pilots unions supported the Air France offer, saying the French carrier was better suited to help the airline face growing competition internationally and fend off budget airlines in Italy. Still, the pilots criticized the government for not including them in the decision-making process and threatened strikes if the government doesn't wrest job guarantees in the talks with Paris-based Air France.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS