KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Malaysia's government is open to a tie-up between its national airline Malaysian Airline System (MAS) and a foreign-owned airline, the country's deputy premier told the Malaysian Reserve newspaper.
The Malaysian press has reported MAS and Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd may be in merger talks, although MAS has denied the reports and said that it and Qantas were in talks on a joint maintenance venture, not a merger.
"The present conditions in the world dictate to us to be creative and innovative provided we can agree on the participation of foreigners on a win-win basis," Najib Razak, who is also the finance minister told the paper when asked about a potential tie-up with Qantas.
The Malaysian state owns over 90 percent of MAS, which said earlier this month it was in talks with several airlines on code shares and joint ventures.
"The present conditions in the world dictate to us to be creative and innovative provided we can agree on the participation of foreigners on a win-win basis," Najib Razak, who is also the finance minister told the paper when asked about a potential tie-up with Qantas.
The Malaysian state owns over 90 percent of MAS, which said earlier this month it was in talks with several airlines on code shares and joint ventures.
