Corporate bits | CTM offers promotions at CNY Shopping and Food Expo

CTM will set up a sales booth at the Lunar New Year Shopping and Food Expo, offering telecom services and products at promotional prices.

The expo will be held at The Venetian Macao Cotai Expo Hall A from today until Sunday.

New subscribers to the 4G+ “City Link” (Macau, HK & Mainland China) Service Plan will be entitled to a special monthly rate of MOP138.

A special redemption price is also available for subscribers to redeem selected handsets.

Customers who subscribe to the Mobile Service Plan will receive a free MOMAX 1-World USB/AC Adapter.

Customers may receive up to MOP2,000 of discounts on selected handsets, up to 3,000 CTM bonus points for subscribing to “No.1 Home Fiber Broadband” and a special offer to redeem the AKAI Anti-Allergy UV Vacuum. They may also enjoy a special discount of up to 55 percent to redeem CTM Bonus Points for selected products.

Air France-KLM downbeat on prospects for ‘difficult’ 2017

Air France-KLM Group Chief Executive Officer Jean- Marc Janaillac delivered a downbeat assessment of the carrier’s prospects for 2017, saying it faces “difficult” times in the year ahead amid rising oil prices and an ongoing struggle to rein in expenses.

Weak margins combined with high debt remain the greatest challenges to Europe’s biggest airline, Janaillac said in an address at a press reception in Paris late Wednesday. He declined to comment on the status of talks with pilots linked to the cost-cutting drive, citing the need to build trust with unions.

“We will have to face the increase of oil prices, of the dollar, and an increase in interest rates, and this while our profitability is weak and we have a high debt without the option of appealing to our shareholders, given our weak stock valuation,” the CEO said.

Air France-KLM had sales of about 25 billion euros (USD27 billion) last year and a positive net result, he said. That’s in line with analyst forecasts.

Janaillac took over in July after predecessor Alexandre de Juniac quit following clashes with unions over plans to pare expenses and move more flights to Air France-KLM’s Transavia discount unit, amid a squeeze from Mideast carriers on long-haul and routes and discount specialists such as EasyJet Plc in Europe.