The move comes as Vietnam's largest private company looks to focus on its technology and industry operations.
Bloomberg reports that Vinpearl Air, the airline expected to be launched by Vingroup this year, has been cancelled.
The news source quotes a statement from Nguyen Viet Quang, Vingroup's vice chairman, as saying: "The aviation market of Vietnam has a lot of potential and is developing strongly, but it also has large companies already in operation. Vingroup's strong investment in aviation could lead to an oversupply."
Vingroup announced plans for Vinpearl Air last year, and the company received approval to fly from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam in August, with plans to take to the skies as soon as this summer.
As recently as January 3, VnExpress reported that Vinpearl Air was aiming for a July launch date, with the expectation of creating over 2,000 jobs by 2024 while operating a fleet of 30 aircraft.
The ceasing of the airline project is in line with Vingroup's efforts to focus on companies like VinFast and VinSmart, which the corporation sees as its path toward a prominent international position. In December, the conglomerate offloaded its retail and agriculture arms, VinCommerce and VinEco, to Masan Consumer Holdings.
While Vinpearl Air won't join Vietnam's busy aviation market, Vietravel Airlines and Kite Air are both eyeing 2020 launches.
[Photo via Pxhere]
