Adani group to bid for duty-free shops in Macau int'l airport

India's leading business conglomerate, Adani group plans to bid for setting up duty-free shops at the Macau international airport, as India’s largest airport operator spreads its wings overseas.

Adani group, which was awarded the management of several Indian airports as its maiden airport management ventures, is now with an advantage so gained, bidding for retail business at airports.

In a stock exchange filing, Adani Enterprises, the flagship firm of the conglomerate run by billionaire Gautam Adani, said it has completed the incorporation of a wholly-owned subsidiary, MTRPL Macau Ltd, in Macau on November 20.

The subsidiary has been incorporated with an intention of the group's foray into the duty-free industry.

“MML is incorporated to bid for duty-free liquor and tobacco shops at Macau International Airport,” it said.

The open tender for the duty-free services was opened by Macau International Airport (MFM) in August.

Bids close on November 29, according to the tender document.

The doumentI said MFM is looking for an “operator to operate duty-free liquor and tobacco services, optionally with or without general merchandise retail services (but no perfume and cosmetics), with the defined sub-concession areas at Macau International Airport.”

Macau international airport has a design capacity to handle 6 million passengers per year. The Pacific island country was under Portuguese rule until end-1999, when it was handed over to China and now ruled as a special administrative region for 50 years, as done with Hong Kong since 1997.

Adani’s ports-to-edible oil group has in recent years ventured into newer businesses including data centre, cement, telecom and media.

It ventured into the airport business in 2019, after it won operation and management contracts for six airports Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangalore, Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram, in addition to holding a 73 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd.

(Inputs from PTI)