The proposed share swap deal between MAS and AirAsia is helmed as a win-win situation by the Transport Minister. He further claimed that the move will strenghten the local or National aviation sector, boost it and add synergies. But the manner and hush-hush behind the deal is indeed worrying tending to cause or excite suspicion and questionable. One moment Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun are hailed as the majority MAS shareholder, the next moment Khazanah Nasional denying it, and insisting they remain the largest shareholders.
It is claimed that it is inevitable for Tony Fernandes and Co. to step in to help the flagging national carrier. Was the move to pull out Idris Jala from the national carrier a bad one? Could he have avoided it? No point crying over spilt milk....we have to move on. From an economic perspective, the move to bring Tony Fernandes in, would be akin to creating and handling the monopoly power of the Malaysian aviation sector to him, on a silver platter. It is a common knowledge that monopolist have huge powers, and the consumers would be at their mercy. Monoply market is also known for its inefficiencies, underallocatment and overpricing.The lack of real competition may give a monopolist less of an incentive to invest in new ideas or consider consumer welfare.
The fierce competition between MAS and AirAsia before this, ensured that the consumers enjoyed some good deals, this would not be possible if they become one and no elements of competition exist.So, I am not sure how the Transport Minister could come up with the conclusion of win-win situation. For me the consumers would be at the losing end, and what ever it is, Tony Fernandes would be laughing all the way to the bank.......adios........a.h.baharom
No comments:
Post a Comment