SAEAGA to acquire plane

SAEAGA to acquire plane

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AFP): Malaysian-based SAEAGA Airlines Sdn. Bhd. said yesterday it planned to buy 10 medium-sized aircraft from Boeing Co. or Airbus to expand to international routes.

"We are going to see Boeing and Airbus for expansion of business," Malaysian timber tycoon, Ting Pek Khiing, chairman of SAEAGA, a unit of listed Ekran Bhd., told reporters.

He declined to detail the cost of the planned fleet expansion, but said it was aimed at better serving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations area grouping Malaysia with Brunei, , Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Ting, who is also chairman of Ekran Bhd., is in this northern island resort to attend an international dialog to be opened by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad later yesterday.

"We are going to expand to international routes from the domestic routes," said Ting.

SAEAGA is the domestic carrier based in Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah which was two months ago designated by the government as a national carrier within the East Asian Growth Area (EAGA).