Singapore's competition watchdog announced on Tuesday that it has given conditional approval to the merger between Tata Group-owned Air India and sister airline Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines.
The proposed merger, announced by Singapore's flagship carrier in November 2022, aims to establish a dominant full-service airline in both domestic and international markets.
Although India's antitrust body approved the merger in September of the previous year, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) raised certain competition concerns regarding the consolidation.
The CCCS identified a significant market share held by the parties on four routes of concern, specifically between Singapore and Indian cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Tiruchirapalli.
To address these concerns, the parties proposed to maintain flight capacity on the mentioned routes at pre-COVID levels, appoint independent auditors to oversee compliance with capacity commitments, and submit regular reports to the CCCS.
In its statement on Tuesday, the CCCS deemed the proposed commitments sufficient to alleviate the competition concerns arising from the merger.
The merger proposal is pending approval from other regulatory bodies and foreign direct investment authorities.
A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines stated, "Singapore Airlines continues to collaborate with our partner Tata Sons to secure the remaining approvals from relevant authorities to finalize the merger."
Under the terms of the merger, Singapore Airlines will hold a 25.1% stake in the merged entity, with Tata Group holding the remaining shares.
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