Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Saudi low-cost airline Flynas to launch IPO

By Pramod Kumar
Aircraft, Airliner, Airplane Flynas
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund owns a 17 percent stake in Flynas

Flynas, the Saudi carrier backed by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has hired consultants for a potential initial public offering (IPO) in Riyadh.

The low-cost airline may go public as early as next year, Bloomberg reported, citing an airline statement.

Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and Saudi Fransi Capital will work on the IPO.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund owns a 17 percent stake in Flynas and is in talks to increase its holding in the airline, the news agency reported in April.

Flynas has been weighing an IPO since 2008 and hired Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc. and NCB Capital for a potential deal in 2018.

The airline is setting up local units in two more countries and expanding its existing jet orders to become the Middle East’s largest low-cost airline.

Saudi Arabia in March launched a new national airline – Riyadh Air – expected to create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and add $20 billion to the kingdom’s non-oil economy.

Riyadh Air will connect the capital city to over 100 destinations by 2030.

Latest articles

Head, Person, Face

India’s Adani set to raise $1bn from Middle East wealth fund

Adani Group, led by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, is in advanced discussions with an unnamed sovereign wealth fund from the Middle East to raise up to $1 billion for its airports business, a news report said. The first tranche of the fundraising will be finalised by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, Economic […]

Saudi Arabia launches e-karting racing tracks in 6 cities

Six cities in Saudi Arabia are set to get Hot Wheels e-karting racing tracks. The indoor e-karts will be a venture between Saudi Entertainment Ventures (Seven), part of Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), and US toy maker Mattel. The Hot Wheels e-karting will be available in entertainment complexes such as Riyadh, Makkah, Taif, Al Madinah, Tabuk, and Jazan. In January, Seven […]

Sainsbury's has the second-largest share of the UK grocery market, at 15 percent, behind Tesco at 28 percent

Qatar to reduce stake in UK supermarket Sainsbury’s

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is selling part of its 15 percent stake in the British supermarket Sainsbury’s as the fund pushes ahead with expansion in the United States and Asia, particularly China and India. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the biggest shareholder in Sainsbury’s, is selling £306 million ($399 million) worth of shares in the retailer, […]

Shoppers in Kuwait's Avenues Mall – the IMF says the country needs to encourage private sector employment

Kuwait needs to push reforms for economic growth, says IMF

Kuwait must accelerate the introduction of fiscal and structural reforms that are needed to increase private sector-led growth and diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday. Kuwait’s economy will contract by 3.2 percent this year because of an Opec+ oil production cut, but will grow by 2.8 percent in 2025 […]