Middle East Airlines IPO gathers momentum; Kuwait National Airways and Royal Jordanian fall
Middle East Airlines (MEA) announced Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, stated six banks had expressed interest in managing a partial initial public offering (IPO).
The airline expects to announce a manager for a 25% stake sale by Jun-2010, following a meeting of the Board of Directors and Central Bank. MEA is valued at USD1 billion. No single investor is permitted to own more than 1% of shares, which will be listed on Lebanon's stock exchange.
Kuwait National Airways and Royal Jordanian lower
Elsewhere in the Middle East, all carriers were down yesterday, with Kuwait National Airways (-2.0%) taking the biggest fall, moving with the Kuwait Stock Exchange (-1.4%). Royal Jordanian (-1.0%) also fell with the Amman Stock Exchange (-0.5%). Air Arabia (-1.0%) also ended trading lower.
In Africa, Kenya Airways (-1.7%) shares were down again, as the closure of European airports continued to affect its operations. The carrier intends to resume services between Nairobi and London Heathrow today.
Comair (-1.1%) was also down. South Africa's JSE (+1.0%) ended trading up, while the Travel and Leisure Index (-0.2%) slipped. 1time and Lonrho were flat.
The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) has launched a unique new strategic business information service covering one of the world's most exciting emerging aviation markets. Middle East-Africa Airline Daily is an efficient morning briefing on airline developments from both regions. Covering fleets, routes, financials, traffic, bilateral agreements, alliances, financing, ownership, along with analysis of all significant developments, it is your one-stop shop to aviation news from Africa and the Middle East - and best of all it's free for a limited time. Sign-up today!
Selected African and Middle Eastern airlines share price movements (% change): 19-Apr-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Reuters