Ethiopian Airlines sets eyes on CEIBA Intercontinental

Equatorial Guinea is again considering selling a portion of CEIBA Intercontinental shares to Ethiopian Airlines as part of its privatisation plan for the state-owned airline, according to a statement by the Vice Presidency and Press Office of the Central African country. The matter was discussed between Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue and CEIBA Intercontinental's director general Agnes Khunwana on March 18 after Ethiopian Airlines expressed official interest and provided the Malabo administration with requested information for negotiations. At the meeting, Khunwana highlighted the airline's ongoing challenges since July last year when she took over the company's reins. She said the airline's main problem was a lack of liquidity, hindering planned projects like hub creation, route expansion, and aircraft reactivation. Nguema Obiang agreed the airline's situation was "alarming" despite a change of Board and the government's injection of XAF9b CFA francs (US$14.8m), leading him to the conclusion that the only solution was to privatise the airline and prompting consideration of Ethiopian Airlines' proposal. To assess CEIBA Intercontinental's value, the Vice President instructed the country's civil aviation authority to engage an expert office promptly to value the airline.<br/>