When I saw this in the ST paper early this morning, I told myself as long as they have to watch the share price and restructure the company in ways short term and money minded investors cannot understand, they are better off taking the company private. SQ needs a complete rethink. One of its key competitor Emirates isn't a listed entity. They can indulge in funny numbers but most important have lots of flexibility to act boldly and long term. Furthermore Dubai is investing till kingdom come to turn itself into a world class destination. We can't do the same for SQ.
But the most important factor for SQ under performance isn't the harsh business environment but its cautious and fearful leadership. They have become more at home with running after trends than setting them. It is no longer the airline that other airlines talk about. It lacks imagination to invent the future and cannot be the industry leader.
SQ is a bellwether for Singapore. SQ looked at profits before people. Singapore leadership is doing the same unfortunately.
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