Etihad to sound out investors as Gulf carriers race towards IPOs

Etihad Airways and flynas are gearing up to list on local stock markets this year, marking the first IPOs by Gulf carriers in nearly two decades, with Etihad sounding out investors next week ahead of a potential sale of around a 20% stake, two sources said. Etihad is looking at a listing this quarter, the people with knowledge of its plans said, with one of them saying the airline would target both local and international investors. It could raise around $1b in what would be the first airline IPO in the Gulf since Kuwait's Jazeera Airways in 2008, one of the two people and a third source said. Saudi Arabia's budget carrier flynas, backed by Kingdom Holding, the investment company of billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, could also list this year, another person familiar with its plans said. Qatar Airways, one of the region's biggest carriers, could go public before the decade is out.<br/>