Kazakhstani airline operator Air Astana is planning to list in London in a rare boon for the market which has been fighting to win major investment interest in recent years.
Astana, the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus, said today it hoped to raise $120m through a dual listing in its home nation and London — plans mooted since 2016.
The group, 49 per cent of which is owned by UK defence contractor BAE Systems, added that it would be targeting the AIX for listing.
BAE’s share price is up three per cent in the last five days.
Approximately half of Kazakhstani regional and international flights and seven out of every ten domestic flights are run by Astana, which operates a low-cost carrier, FlyArystan, with routes to China, India and Azerbaijan.
Peter Foster, Air Astana Group President and chief executive said: “Our intention to list in London and Kazakhstan demonstrates the strong foundations of the Air Astana Group and the exciting prospects to increase air travel across our key markets.”
“We are confident that the initial public offering will accelerate the next stage of growth for the Air Astana Group, and we see significant opportunities to thicken our existing routes and expand into new geographic areas, supported by our continued fleet expansion plan and initiatives to increase operational flexibility,” Foster continued.
The news comes days after the board of UK travel giant TUI recommended de-listing the company from the London Stock Exchange
The souring doesn’t just cover the travel industry; gambling giant Flutter completed a secondary listing in New York early last year, while Plus500 and YouGov are also publicly considering moves to the US.
