Asian Spirit mulls IPO

After securing a 25-year franchise from Congress, domestic airline Asian Spirit Inc. is now setting its sights on its initial public offering as mandated by law.

Organized by the Airline Employees Cooperative (AEC), Asian Spirit is the country’s youngest airline. It is known for serving predominantly tourism destinations and secondary routes where other airlines don’t dare to operate.

Under its Congressional franchise, Asian Spirit is mandated to list its shares at the Philipine Stock Exchange within the next five years. It is required to offer 30 percent of its outstanding capital stock to the public. Analysts have put the value of the airline at P1.2 billion.

The airline was granted a congressional franchise last month, entitling it to fiscal incentives as well as appropriate government support due a flag carrier. Aside from carrying passengers, Asian Spirit is also authorized to operate and maintain other transport services like carrying mail, goods, and property by air.

Asian Spirit said that while the congressional franchise gives it more muscle to explore opportunities to fly international, it would not pursue the direction that the three other airlines have taken.

"For a country of 7,100 islands, opportunities already abound locally. We have our work cut out for us. The congressional nod gives us a boost to pursue our mission, that is to build air bridges for progress," Capt. Antonio Buendia, president of Asian Spirit, said. – Zinnia dela Peña