(Yicai Global) June 15 -- Listed Chinese travel agencies Caissa Tosun Development and UTour Group said they plan to merge through a stock swap. The pandemic’s impact on the travel industry may be behind the move, according to market insiders.

The merger is still in the planning phase, the Beijing-based companies said in statements yesterday. No official agreement has yet been signed.

As of yesterday’s close, Caissa [SHE:000796] had a stock market value of CNY1.09 billion (USD170.3 million). UTour [SHE:002707] was worth CNY821 million (USD128 million). Their shares were suspended today, a halt that is not expected to last more than five trading days, after which UTour will be delisted.

China’s domestic tourism market has recovered strongly, but the pair focus on outbound travel, a sector that has withered due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

In the first quarter of this year, Caissa had a net loss of CNY94.1 million (USD14.7 million), while UTour lost CNY74.6 million. Caissa’s revenue slumped 68 percent to CNY240 million. UTour’s plunged 93 percent to CNY85.2 million.

Before the pandemic, they had revenues of about CNY6.04 billion (USD943 million) and CNY12.7 billion (USD1.98 billion), respectively.

The share swap will not affect Caissa’s controller, but it is expected to bring changes for UTour.

Editor: Futura Costaglione