Opening address by chairman of Tiger Airways Holdings at the extraordinary general meeting held on 3

We are gathered here to consider a proposal from the Board of Directors of Tiger Airways Holdings to sell a majority stake in our wholly-owned subsidiary, Tiger Australia or TT, to Virgin Australia.

TT has never made an operating profit in its six years of existence. ln July 2011, it was suspended by the Australian regulator CASA for repeatedly ignoring warnings on its lapses in flight operations.

ln retrospect, the suspension was the final straw on TT's back. Despite valiant efforts since the resumption of services, TT has not been able to produce a turnaround. Just when TT had recovered its composure in terms of its operations, the market turned sour as a result of over-capacity.

Taking stock of our situation, we have concluded that TT is just too small a player in the Australian market, and would need massive resources to reach a critical mass. Second, we need a strong partner if TT is to achieve that critical mass. And third, we believe the destiny of Tiger Holdings lies in Asia, particularly the ASEAN region.

We regard Virgin as such a partner. A word about Virgin. It is the second largest airline in Australia. Having been in the budget space and vacated it, it is now a full-service carrier but with a strong desire to re-enter the budget space. So you may say that TT's predicament was a timely opportunity for Virgin. And as a result, there is a reasonable prospect that TT will be an effective participant in the market.

The application to the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, or ACCC, is now under consideration. We hope for an early and favourable decision, which will then enable an independent and stronger TT to face the competition with confidence.