CAPA to convene Aviation & Tourism Investor Summit for Indian Subcontinent and Middle East

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation is to convene an Aviation & Tourism Investor Summit focusing on the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East regions.

The event will be held at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on 20th and 21st June 2005, and is the latest in a series of conferences the Centre has staged on critical aviation and tourism issues in Asia Pacific.

"The aviation and tourism industries of the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East are booming, but huge investment is required to develop the necessary airline and airport capacity, and to bring tourism infrastructure up to world class levels. Estimates point to project financing requirements of US$30-50 billion by the end of this decade in India alone," the Centre's Managing Director, Peter Harbison, said. "We felt that the time was now right to bring together investors with industry operators, entrepreneurs and government leaders to discuss the emerging opportunities and the challenges to be addressed."

The summit aims to not only showcase investment opportunities in the region but also to provide a platform for investors to highlight the necessary market conditions, expected rates of return, incentive packages, risk mitigation and regulatory frameworks that will give investors the confidence to commit funds and expertise.

Strong economic growth in the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East, and an increasing international profile has seen passenger traffic surge by 20-30% per annum in many cases. New and existing airlines are scrambling to keep pace with the growth, which in turn is driving demand for expanded and upgraded airport capacity and tourism infrastructure such as hotel rooms, tourist attractions and convention facilities. The repercussions are also being felt along the entire supply chain for these industries.

Mr Harbison stated that, “we are at a remarkable juncture where rapid market growth is converging with economic deregulation and liberalisation across the region to create exciting new ventures, of real interest to both local and foreign investors. A gradual relaxation of restrictions on foreign direct investment is generating interest from around the world.”

Opportunities exist in the form of airline and airport privatisations, new stock market listings, funding of start-up airlines, construction of greenfield airports, and joint venture operations or acquisitions in areas such as hotel and resort development, theme parks, catering, ground handling and travel technology.

“The fact that the recent Jet Airways IPO was 16 times oversubscribed and listed at an 18% premium, suggests there is a great appetite for investment in this sector.”

Mr Harbison went on to say that, “the region is also unique for the incredible diversity of market segments: from budget hotels and low cost airlines for a mass market of first time travellers, to exclusive niches such as fractional ownership of business jets and luxury spas, for the highly affluent sections of society and the growing numbers of foreign tourists and corporate travellers.”

This month’s Forbes Rich List showed that India has the 8th highest number of billionaires in the world.

The summit will consist of a high-level speaker program and an accompanying exhibition. Participants will include government ministers, CEOs from across the aviation and tourism industries and leading figures from the premier investment banks, private equity funds, venture capitalists and property developers in the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

The Investor Summit is the latest event to be organised by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, following the success of its Low Cost Airline Symposium series and Aviation & Tourism Outlook. The most recent conferences, held in Singapore in January 2005, attracted over 500 delegates and an excellent calibre of speakers. Further conferences are planned for the remainder of 2005, including Low Cost Airline Symposiums in Japan in August, and in India in October, and Asia Pacific Aviation & Tourism Outlook 2006 in December.

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