新加坡航空购得维珍澳洲航空10%股份
Singapore Airlines has bought a 10% stake in Virgin Australia, as competition heats up in the Australian aviation market.
新加坡航空公司购买维珍澳洲航空公司10%的股份，澳洲航空市场竞争日趋激烈。
Singapore Air will spend A$105m ($108m; £68m) on the deal, Virgin said in a statement.
The tie-up comes after Qantas announced a potential alliance with Dubai's Emirates.
Global airlines have increased cooperation as rising fuel prices and competition have hit profits.
Qantas challenge
Analysts say Singapore Air, the world's second biggest airline, is backing Virgin to counter the threat posed by Qantas in Asia's lucrative（赚钱的） aviation market.
"Qantas' ambition to become a premium player in the Asia Pacific aviation market is meeting some stiff resistance, most notably from other key players in the region like Singapore Airlines," said City Index analyst Peter Esho.
"We see today's move by Singapore Airlines as a strategic shift down south to back Qantas' main domestic competitor," he added.
Abu Dhabi's flag carrier, Etihad, also has a minority stake in Virgin Australia.
Deal rush
In a flurry of domestic moves, Virgin also announced it had agreed to acquire 60% of Singapore's struggling Australian budget carrier, Tiger Airways, for A$25m.
Virgin and Tiger will jointly spend another A$52.5m to increase Tiger's fleet, if regulators give their approval.
Virgin also said it would takeover regional airline Skywest, which operates in Australia and South East Asia, for A$99m.
"The transactions announced today are in line with Virgin Australia's strategy to become the airline of choice in all markets, in order to diversify our earnings and drive growth opportunities for the business," said Virgin Australia Chief Executive Officer John Borghetti.