Auckland International Airport Ltd, New Zealand’s largest, agreed to pay A$133 million (US$123 million) for a stake in two airports in Australia’s Queensland state to gain more from Asian travel.
The purchase of Westpac Banking Corp’s 25 percent stake in North Queensland Airports is expected to settle tomorrow, the Auckland-based company said in a statement to the New Zealand stock exchange. North Queensland operates the Mackay and Cairns airports, which jointly handle almost 3.7 million domestic and international travelers a year.
Auckland Airport, the arrival point for more than 70 percent of New Zealand’s visitors, is investing in new terminals and a hotel to help increase traffic. The Australian airports will provide a good return on equity and longer term will help draw more tourist traffic to Auckland, chief executive officer Simon Moutter said yesterday.
“It’s one of the things you would be most comfortable with them doing outside of investing in their current business,” said Stephen Walker, head of asset management at Goldman Sachs JBWere Ltd in Auckland.
Auckland Airport shares fell NZ$0.06, or 2.9 percent, to NZ$2.02 (US$1.49) at the 5pm market close in Wellington.
The acquisition will be initially funded from debt and subsequently the funding strategy could involve a mixture of equity and debt, the company said, without providing details.
The prospect of more shares being sold to investors has probably weighed on the stock price, Walker said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from