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SHANGHAI - CHINA Eastern is 'willing to study' a possible bid by rival Air China which would dampen Singapore Airlines' hopes of taking a stake in the Chinese mainland carrier, state media said on Tuesday.
China Eastern 'is willing to study any sincere bid that conforms with legal procedures and is better than Singapore Airline's offer,' the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a source with the board of China Eastern.
The nation's third biggest carrier previously insisted it would reject Air China as a strategic partner, but a rejection by shareholders last week of the Singapore Airlines bid has thrown the deal wide open.
SIA and Temasek, Singapore's state-linked investment firm, signed a preliminary deal in September to take a 24 per cent stake in China Eastern for 923 million US dollars (S$1,319), or 3.80 Hong Kong dollars (S$0.70) per share.
China National Aviation Corp, parent of Air China, pledged to offer 5.00 Hong Kong dollars (64 US cents) a share within two weeks after shareholders voted down the Singapore bid on Jan 8.
China Eastern will 'seriously consider' the bid from CNAC, according a report by the Beijing News on Tuesday.
A China Eastern spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
China Eastern accounts for 35 per cent of the city's aviation market, followed by Shanghai Airlines, which holds 18 per cent and Air China with 12 per cent, Xinhua said. -- AFP
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