Favourable tourism dynamics will offset impact from departure levy, MIDF Research projects in an update on MAHB’s passenger statistics. — Bernama photo
KUCHING: Favourable tourism dynamics will offset impact from departure levy, the research arm of MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd (MIDF Research) projects in an update on Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) passenger statistics.
MIDF Research opined the extension of the visa relaxation for Chinese passengers until end of this year should sustain the passenger growth.
“Moreover, we expect MAHB’s efforts in not only attracting more new airlines but also offering increased connectivity to moderate the effects of the departure levy set to be imposed in June 2019 for outgoing international passengers,” the research arm said.
“Meanwhile, low cost carriers (LCCs) such as AirAsia Group Bhd (AAGB) and AirAsia X Bhd (AirAsia X) are strengthening their presence in core markets while establishing new hubs in destinations such as Lombok.
“This will continue to attract higher passengers in 2019 and will benefit MAHB.”
MIDF Research therefore strongly believed that MAHB passenger numbers can surpass the 100 million mark in 2019, while maintaining a relatively conservative growth rate of 3.5 per cent at approximately 102.5 million passengers.
As such, the research arm reiterated its ‘buy’ call on MAHB with a target price of RM8.90 per share as the group is a proxy to Malaysia’s inbound/outbound travel industry.