Faculty Research Seminar – “Cross-Border Joint Venture Airlines in Asia: Implication for Hong Kong” by Prof. Jae Woon Lee

Asia is witnessing the emergence and significant growth of incorporated joint venture airlines. The joint venture model has been a functional approach since most states restrict foreign ownership in an airline to less than 50% and require it to be effectively controlled by locals. A typical business model is for a parent airline group to have a minority share while local owners hold a majority share. Since this model was pioneered by AirAsia and Jetstar, Lion Air, Singapore Airlines, Spring Airlines, and VietJet have managed to establish a presence in foreign countries through such joint venture arrangements with local investors. For the past 15 years, foreign airlines have learned that management conflicts can arise when they partner with strong local airlines. Although foreign airlines want to maximize their corporate control power in their joint venture airlines, they should be mindful of regulatory hurdles in the airline industry. This unique circumstance creates interesting corporate governance issues. This seminar is based on Prof. Lee’s recently published article in European Business Organization Law Review (https://rdcu.be/b1u56). Prof. Lee will also discuss how the research findings pertain to the Hong Kong’s crippling airline industry.

About the Speaker: Prof. Jae Woon Lee