Evergreen International Corp (長榮國際), a major shareholder of EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), yesterday denied that it had invested in Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空), although it said that Evergreen chairman Cheng Shen-chih (鄭深池) has personal shares in the start-up airline.
Evergreen International did not disclose how much Cheng has invested in Starlux, saying that it is a personal matter.
Chang Kuo-ming (張國明) and Chang Kuo-cheng (張國政) — brothers of Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), who founded Starlux and heads the airline — were reported by Chinese-language media to have invested in Starlux, but its spokesperson, Nieh Kuo-wei (聶國維) did not verify the reports, he told the Taipei Times.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times
“We are talking with all new shareholders, and it would be more appropriate to disclose their identity after the injection is carried out. No matter who they are, we welcome them and appreciate their support of Starlux,” Nieh said.
Starlux last month disclosed that the airline would conduct a capital injection of NT$3.3 billion (US$109.29 million) by issuing 275 million new shares, with each share priced at NT$12, regulatory filing showed.
The injection, the second for Starlux this year, is slated to be completed at the end of this month, while the majority of the proceeds, or NT$3.1 billion, would be used for business operation, with the remaining to repay debts, the filing showed.
As Cheng has the support of Chang Kuo-ming and Chang Kuo-cheng, Cheng’s investment in Starlux is seen by some as an alliance among the three, after Evergreen International in April appointed Chang Kuo-wei as the new chairman of Uni Airways Co (立榮航空).
Chang Kuo-wei holds a 91.83 percent stake in Starlux, and the injections would not affect his dominance in the airline, company data showed.
Starlux reported a net loss of NT$2.66 billion for the first half of this year, widening from a net loss of NT$1.36 billion a year earlier. Losses per share reached NT$2.03, compared with losses per share of NT$1.24 a year earlier, the airline said.
The airline’s cumulative revenue totaled NT$632 million in the first six months, up 80 percent from a year earlier, although its operational costs expanded 86 percent year-on-year to NT$2.17 billion, it said.
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