ASTANA, JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s national airline, Air Astana, is likely to launch its international IPO on the London Stock Exchange, CEO Peter Foster said at the Astana Economic Forum.
Air Astana and other state-owned companies that the Kazakh government wants to privatise are legally bound to list on the new Astana Stock Exchange, which will open next year, but the destination of a secondary foreign listing has been the focus of debate. Stock exchanges in Shanghai, Dubai and Singapore have all been touted as possible venues for Air Astana, although London has always been favourite.
“The foreign exchange is likely to be London,” Mr Foster told an audience during an AEF session focused on privatisation.
“The window for an IPO will open in Q3 2018.”
Currently, the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kayna owns 51% of Air Astana and BAE Systems owns a 49% stake.
Mr Foster later told the Bulletin that BAE Systems wanted the foreign IPO in London. The aim of the IPO is to double the size of the fleet over the next decade to around 65 planes.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)