‘Must stay the course during turbulence’: Singapore defends investment in Air India

Two weeks after Air India sought $1.5 billion in fresh equity from ‌its owners Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, the Singaporean government defended its stake in the Indian airline. This comes after the opposition in Singapore objected to using any funds from Temasek – the state investor that owns 25.1% stake in Air India – to back the airline.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence ⁠Wong also condemned the anti-Indian abuse online that accompanied the debate, while Senior Minister K Shanmugam asked the police to probe racist comments about the investment.

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Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said in the parliament that the listed company sought investments from its own balance sheet and had not sought further capital. "Building globally competitive companies means entering potentially difficult markets against people who got there first and staying the course when there is turbulence," Siow said. "We cannot have it both ways. We cannot tell our companies to go out and ​compete, and then treat every tough year abroad as proof that they should stay home."

Siow said that many overseas investments would not produce immediate returns but it was for Singapore Airlines and its shareholders to decide whether the investment would prove valuable.

"Air India's losses do not automatically become SIA's liabilities. Neither does the capital request from Air India oblige SIA to provide it," he added.

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Shanmugam said that Temasek’s CEO and senior management had been ​attacked over their ethnicity. "That news (of the funding request) has given rise to a whole ⁠series of ​anti-Indian, racist ranting online,” he added.

Kenneth Tiong, a lawmaker from Singapore's opposition Workers' Party, who raised questions on Air India’s request urged Temasek’s funds to not be used to shore up the Indian carrier and submit the question answered in the Parliament. Tiong said his questions were about a purely commercial matter and rejected racism and xenophobia.