Airports and infrastructure developer GMR Group has no intention of exiting Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International Airport at the moment.
“We don't have any such plan (to exit) and we will remain invested. Our strategy is portfolio management and we are just working out a portfolio strategy, not selling stake,” Group Chairman G.M. Rao told reporters on the sidelines of an event here on Thursday.
GMR Group holds a 40 per cent stake in the Istanbul airport, while Malaysian Airports Holdings Bhd has 20 per cent and Limak Holdings of Turkey owns the remaining 40 per cent. There have been reports that GMR Group, which has about Rs 40,000 crore debt on its books, was looking at selling its entire stake in the project to pare debt.
Its interest in the airport has apparently rekindled after the recent elections that installed a government headed by Abdulla Yameen in the island-nation.
In November last year, the Maldivian Government had terminated the $500-million contract awarded to GMR for modernising and operating Male Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. The airport was then taken over by the Maldives Airports Co Ltd.
The airport developer had, subsequently, gone into arbitration in Singapore seeking the compensation for what it called “wrongful termination” of the contract.
Listing airports arm Rao said the group was keen on listing its airports arm, GMR Airports Ltd, but was waiting for the right moment. “We are studying both the Indian and global markets and we will get it (the airports vertical) listed (on the exchanges) at the right moment.” He said the Group was likely to get the contract for modernising an important airport in the Philippines in the next few days.
A GMR-led consortium has recently emerged as the highest bidder for developing Mactan-Cebu International Airport of the Philippines. The group has a 40 per cent stake in the consortium.