Saudi Arabian Airlines has confirmed it is planning an initial public offering (IPO) but has not yet indicated how much of the airline it plans to list or when. Director general Saleh Al Jasser commented that the IPO is part of a five-year strategy to make the airline profitable by 2020.
Rather than wait to list before the airline makes a profit for the first time, Al Jasser suggests a listing could take place before profitability is realised.
Saudia’s catering arm has already been privatized, by the sale of a 30% stake sale in 2012, while 30% of Saudia’s ground handling unit has also been sold. There are plans for the cargo, maintenance and training units to also be listed.
Saudia restructuring programme has recently been updated to tally with Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Plan (NTP) – although further details of how this will be realised were not revealed.