Kuwait Airways privatisation moves a step closer

Kuwait's official news agency reported today that the government has selected financial firms Citibank and Ernst & Young to work with aviation consultants Seabury and take the Kuwaiti flag carrier to market.

KAC will be transformed into a private company with a 35-percent stake to be sold at auction to foreign or local investors and 40 percent to be sold to Kuwaiti citizens in an initial public offering.Twenty percent will be reserved for state-run institutions and the remaining five percent will be distributed for free to the Kuwaiti employees.
The airline has a fleet of 15 Airbus and two Boeing aircraft which it bought in the early 1990s.

A government investigation into corruption surrounding the privatisation has been completed allowing the privatisation to now go ahead with internationally recognised financial institutions.