Commuters may need to wait to experience the benefits of SMRT privatisation: Analysts
By Monica Kotwani
Posted 22 Jul 2016 17:06
SINGAPORE: Commuters hoping to benefit from the potential privatisation of SMRT may be disappointed in the short-term, with analysts predicting little or no immediate impact in areas such as train reliability and frequency.
That’s because these areas are being addressed by the Government’s changes to the rail financing network, where the Land Transport Authority will take over the repair and upgrading of assets, and free up train operators to focus on service reliability.
However, in the long run commuters may see some benefits from the privatisation of SMRT, as this would would allow the company to concentrate on its core tasks - which are delivering reliable and efficient public transport services, rather than having to keep an eye on investors' priorities.
The operator’s main shareholder, Temasek Holdings, announced its S$1.18 billion buyout offer on Wednesday (Jul 20), a move that would see SMRT delisted from the Singapore Exchange.
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