AlQa'dah 28, 1434, October 04, 2013, SPA -- The Indian government has given its approval for Jet Airways to sell a 24-per-cent stake to United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Airways, dpa quoted officials as saying Friday. "The cabinet committee on economic affairs Thursday night cleared the deal," said Uday Morey, spokesman for the Aviation Ministry. Etihad Airways will buy 27.26 million equity shares of Jet Airways in a deal worth 379 million dollars. The deal was announced in April but had come under scrutiny after lawmakers expressed concerns about who would be in control of the Indian airline after the sale. In July, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board gave conditional clearance to the deal. It is the first major foreign investment in an Indian airline after the government changed rules in September 2012 to allow foreign carriers to own stake of up to 49 per cent in domestic airlines. In recent months, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia's budget airline AirAsia have announced plans to enter India's airline market. Both the airlines have formed joint ventures with Indian conglomerate Tata Sons. The Indian aviation sector is struggling due to high fuel prices and high interest rates. -- SPA 11:13 LOCAL TIME 08:13 GMT تغريد
