THE strong chance that South African Airways (SAA) will list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and perhaps even on an international bourse, is seen as a good reason for Swiss Air to exercise its option to buy a further stake in the airline. Last November it bought a 20% stake in SAA for R1.4bn and paid an additional R48m for a 12 month option on a further 10% stake valued at R700m. The moves by government to fast track privatization, especially of major parastatals such as Transnet, the SAA holding company, will make the airline a more appealing buy to international investors. If SAA is listed its value would increase substantially. Swiss Air has spent the last eight months evaluating SAA’s performance and industry sources now feel the international carrier is keen to exercise its option in the coming months. However in its cautious way the holding company in South Africa, SAirGroup, said no firm decision had been made yet. The international airline needs a foothold in Africa if it is to compete with major rivals like BA and Air France which dominate much of the continent at present. In its year end results to March 30 this year SAA showed an operating profit of R557m from a loss of R130m in the previous year. Current SAA CEO Coleman Andrews said the company had focused on cutting costs, and growing revenue through better configured route networks.