Kenya says national airline ownership could revert to state
Kenya may consider taking full ownership of its national carrier to effectively ward off competition from other state-owned airlines on the continent and from the Gulf, according to Transport principal secretary Esther Koimett. The East African state owns 48.9% of Kenya Airways after it converted debt into equity in 2017. The agreement diluted major shareholder Air France-KLM’s stake to 7.8% and brought in a consortium of banks under the name KQ Lenders 2017 Ltd., with 38.1%. “But that does not mean that it needs to remain this way,” Koimett told lawmakers in Nairobi. “We can create a path that leads it to a 100% ownership by the govt.” The main hurdle to that plan is outstanding loans, for which the carrier renegotiated repayment schedules, she told a parliamentary committee. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-02-27/sky/kenya-says-national-airline-ownership-could-revert-to-state
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Kenya says national airline ownership could revert to state
Kenya may consider taking full ownership of its national carrier to effectively ward off competition from other state-owned airlines on the continent and from the Gulf, according to Transport principal secretary Esther Koimett. The East African state owns 48.9% of Kenya Airways after it converted debt into equity in 2017. The agreement diluted major shareholder Air France-KLM’s stake to 7.8% and brought in a consortium of banks under the name KQ Lenders 2017 Ltd., with 38.1%. “But that does not mean that it needs to remain this way,” Koimett told lawmakers in Nairobi. “We can create a path that leads it to a 100% ownership by the govt.” The main hurdle to that plan is outstanding loans, for which the carrier renegotiated repayment schedules, she told a parliamentary committee. <br/>
