Qatar Airways considers buying Lufthansa stake - report
FRANKFURT, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Qatar Airways is considering taking a stake in Germany's Lufthansa LHAG.DE, its chief executive Akbar al-Baker was quoted as saying by German news agency dpa.
"If there is an opportunity to invest in Lufthansa, we would like to do it," Akbar Al-Baker told dpa in Doha on Sunday on the sidelines of a visit of the premier of regional state Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, to Qatar.
Initially, Qatar Airways would also look into a partnership with Lufthansa, Al-Baker was quoted as saying.
"Germany is a very important country for us, both in terms of air transport services and in terms of development of tourism," he said.
Qatar Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shares in Lufthansa were up 2% at 0736 GMT on Monday.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)
((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1311; Reuters Messaging: ludwig.burger.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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