Chinese investor grows Slovenian aviation empire
Chinese businessman Kai Dai, who last year registered a new airline in Slovenia, recently became the part-owner of the Adria Airways Pilot Academy, fuelling speculation his company, Kylin Prime Capital, may become an important player in the country’s aviation sector. The Chinese-backed company established European Prime Airways last year, with Slovenia’s business registry indicating its main activities as being passenger and air transport. A former Adria Airways pilot, Blaž Berdnik, holds a 10% share in the airline. In a statement, Kylin Prime Capital told the “Finance” daily this week, “We are at the very beginning and we cannot comment on plans for European Prime Airways. We can neither confirm nor deny the company’s involvement in the EU air transport industry”.
Last month, the Adria Airways Flight School was sold for 7.500 euros as part of the former flag carrier’s bankruptcy procedure. The purchase was made by Slovenia’s former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Peter Jambrek who joined forces with Kai Dai. Their Institute for Constitutional Systems and Human Rights formally acquired the school. Mr Jambrek said his plan was for the flight school to become the biggest in the world. "We are targeting a large pool of countries - in China for instance there is a tremendous shortage of pilots, and the same is true for India and Indonesia", Mr Jambrek said. The plan is for the school to start operations next year, once all bureaucratic matters are settled. The flight school’s biggest asset is a still valid but inoperative ATO (Approved Training Organisations) license, enabling the buyer to continue training future pilots. The developments come in the lead up to the first anniversary of Adria Airways’ bankruptcy.
Chinese investments in Slovenia’s aviation sector have so far been unsuccessful. The Chinese-backed SHS Aviation won a fifteen-year concession for Maribor Airport in 2017. It planned to turn the airport into a European hub for the arrival of Chinese tourists. In order to aid its vision, the company established a new carrier - VLM Slovenia - which commenced operations from Maribor to several European destinations. However, after a number of difficulties, the carrier went bankrupt, with the Chinese investor later pulling out of Maribor Airport as well, accusing the state of not holding up to its part of the agreement to adopt a new airport spatial plan in order to allow for its development. To this day, a new spatial plan has not been adopted.
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