Japan’s biggest air transport group All Nippon Airways (ANA) is set to become National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA)’s strategic partner after buying 8.8% of VNA, according to an announcement by VNA on January 12.

Accordingly, ANA and VND have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the ANA Group to acquire a stake in Vietnam Airlines of approximately 8.8%, worth VND2,431 billion (about US$108 million). The official purchasing contract is going to be signed in the first quarter of 2016.

CEO of ANA Holdings Inc Shinya Katanozaka said: “Asia is a key growth market for ANA Group as we expand our international footprint and Vietnam Airlines makes the ideal partner for us because we share the same high standards and approach to customer service and efficiency.”

ANA is looking forward to completing this strategic investment and launching the partnership in order to serve passengers even better, he added.

According to VNA Chairman Pham Viet Thanh, the co-operation with ANA Group will help Vietnam Airlines acquire new management technologies, expand the market, improve service quality, and increase competitiveness on international markets.

This comprehensive co-operation will enhance the value, brand and image of Vietnam Airlines, he noted.

The partnership will also enable both ANA Group and Vietnam Airlines to take maximum advantage of the increasing demand for air services in the Asian market and, in particular, in the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam group of countries which has one of the highest growth potentials in the region.

In addition, the ANA Group will dispatch one member to the board of Vietnam Airlines and will also provide Vietnam Airlines with operational and management know-how to help support service quality.

Vietnam Airlines currently operates 66 flights weekly on ten routes between Japan and Vietnam while ANA operates fourteen flights weekly on two routes.

As the national flag carrier of Vietnam, headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam Airlines operates 95 routes to 21 domestic and 29 international destinations with more than 360 daily flights.

The Airlines is operating a young fleet of 87 modern aircraft including new Boeing 787 Dreamlines, Airbus A350-900 XWB, Boeing 777, Airbus A330, and Airbus A321.

Vietnam Airlines became an official member of the SkyTeam Alliance on June 10, 2010 and the first representative of the alliance in the South East Asia region.

ANA is an aviation group with global operations and a total of 63 consolidated subsidiaries and 18 equity method affiliates.

It is divided into passenger and cargo services segments as well as airline related business such as Catering and IT Services.

ANA HD formed in April 2013 and is the parent company of ANA, full service carrier, and Vanilla Air, LCC. ANA has about 240 aircraft flying to 88 destinations and carrying about 47 million passengers.