ANA Holdings Inc., the parent company of All Nippon Airways, will invest 95 million dollars (10.5 billion yen) by March to acquire a 9.5 percent stake in PAL Holdings Inc., which owns Philippine Airlines Inc.
ANA President and Chief Executive Officer Shinya Katanozaka and PAL director Michael Tan, who also serves as president of LT Group Inc., attended a business and capital partnership ceremony with other executives in Tokyo on Friday.
ANA is seeking to expand its partnerships with Asian airlines, previously acquiring equity stakes in South Korea's Asiana Airlines in 2007 and Vietnam's Vietnam Airlines in 2016. PAL is the largest airline in the Philippines.
Since 2014, ANA and PAL have partnered on code-sharing and mileage programs and jointly operated check-in counters, among other endeavors. Following the investment, ANA will name a member to PAL's board of directors to further strengthen ties. The two companies plan to collaborate on catering services and learn about each other's marketing technologies.
In addition to its airline business, ANA is also seeking to develop its import business for agricultural products such as bananas and win orders for subway and airport expansion projects.
The Philippine economy has expanded rapidly in recent years, with the number of passengers from the Philippines to Japan increasing almost fivefold from about 85,000 in 2012 to about 420,000 in 2017. The number of passengers from Japan to the Philippines has also risen from about 410,000 to about 580,000 over the same period.
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