Middle Eastern and Asian funds interested in buying a share in TAP

Tap’s privatisation is attracting interest not only from airlines, but also from investment funds from the Middle East and Asia, according to online news source ECO this week.

In addition to the interest from the three European giants Air France KLM, IAG and Lufthansa, the sale of TAP has been attracting the interest of more companies, including ones outside Europe.

The revelations were made last week by the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Hugo Espírito Santo, in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Faro de Vigo, as reported by business daily Negócios.

The Government led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro says that the “ideal” would be to achieve the total privatisation of TAP’s capital.

Portugal’s Finance minister, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento says that the government wants to speed up the privatisation process, but has not given any date for the next steps towards the airline’s selloff, and no mention of the privatisation has been made in the State Budget for 2025.