February 1-14 2024 Central Asian commercial aviation news brief

Another attempt to privatize Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air has failed

Efforts of Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna to privatize the regional carrier Qazaq Air has failed again.

The sale "was recognized as failed due to the lack of competitive bids that meet the conditions of the tender," Samruk-Kazyna, the sole owner of Qazaq Air said in January 30 statement.

This is the second unsuccessful attempt to attract an investor for the airline in five months. Modified terms of the sale, which included a 20-year deferral on the airline's repayment of KZT38bn (US$83.5m) spent by the fund to buy its planes didn't help either.

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Foreign carriers take almost 50% of Kazakhstan's aviation market

According to statistics recently released by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, nearly half of the passengers at the Central Asian country's airports in 2023 were carried by foreign airlines. The ministry reported on February 5 that local airports served over 26 million passengers in 2023, including 13.3 million people who flew with Kazakhstan’s airlines.

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Capitalization of Kazakhstan's Air Astana is estimated at some US$850 million

Kazakhstan's largest airline, Air Astana, has announced the pricing in relation to the IPO of GDRs internationally and a concurrent offering of shares and GDRs in Kazakhstan. The offer price has been set at US$9.5 per GDR, and KZT1,073.83 (US$2,4) per share, with one GDR representing an interest in four shares.

Based on this, the implied market capitalization of the Air Astana will be approximately US$847 million.

The securities of the flagship Kazakh carrier will be traded on three stock exchanges - in London (LSE, to start on February 14) and Kazakhstan (AIX and KASE - from February 15). Conditional trading of GDRs on AIX and LSE began February 9, 2024.

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The Russia-sponsored bank to help Tajikistan’s flag carrier buy new aircraft

Tajikistan’s Somon Air is seeking a US$100 million loan from the Eurasian Development Bank to buy a pair of Boeing 737 narrow-body aircraft. The bank reported that the new jets are expected to be purchased in 2024.

The Eurasian Development Bank was founded in 2006 by the governments of Russia and Kazakhstan. Russia holds 44,8% stake in the bank, Kazakhstan - 37.3%, with minor shareholders including Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

The acquisition of new jets will enable Somon Air to commence flights to Antalya, Riyadh, and Sharm El Sheikh from Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, and to destinations such as Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Dubai, Urumqi, and Istanbul from the city of Khujand in the north of the country in 2024.

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Iraqi Airways connects Baku with oil-rich region in Iraq

Iraqi Airways has launched direct scheduled flights to Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) from Kirkuk, a capital of oil-rich province in northern Iraq.

Starting February, Iraqi flag carrier will serve the route once a week, complimenting the existing Baghdad-Baku route.

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Baku airport international traffic increased by 40%

More than 437,000 passengers were carried on international routes at Baku Heydar Aliyev Airport (GYD) in January 2024, representing a 39.6% growth year-on-year.

A total of 4,225 flights were performed in Azerbaijan capital’s airport during the month. The share of foreign airlines accounted for 50.8 percent of total international traffic with 222,000 passengers transported, with the balance (215,000) served by the national air carrier AZAL.