[photopress:travelsky.jpg,full,alignright]China TravelSky Technology’s parent company will seek to list in its entirety in Hong Kong to further expand the nation’s largest electronic system for booking airline tickets.
Zhu Xiaoxing, executive director and president of TravelSky Technology, said at an EMBA graduation forum at Tsinghua University, ‘Our parent company will inject key assets into TravelSky to bolster our further expansion.’
The parent company is State-owned China TravelSky Holding which has a registered capital of RMB1.5 billion. Founded in 2002, it now has four subsidiaries, including Hong Kong-listed TravelSky Technology and the Accounting Center of China Aviation.
Zhu Xiaoxing declined to reveal details on the timetable and assets involved, citing regulatory requirements.
TravelSky Technology now has more than 98% of China’s electronic airline booking market. Its system processed about 173 million bookings for domestic and overseas airlines last year, while its revenue grew 14% to RMB1.71 billion.
The company is 42.7% held by 14 Chinese airlines, including the holding companies of the three largest mainland commercial carriers – China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and China National Aviation.
The Beijing-based company is now operating a website for booking airline tickets online, which some analysts say could become a strong competitor to Chinese online travel agents like as Ctrip.com.
Travelsky Technology has more than 30 centers across the mainland as well in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and South Korea.
There were 179 million airline passengers in China last year, up 15% from 2005. The number is expected to reach 270 million in 2010.
Source: China.org.cn