Saudi airline flynas launches IPO to raise up to US$1.1 billion
[DUBAI] Saudi Arabian budget airline flynas, backed by billionaire Prince Alwaleed Talal, is seeking to raise up to US$1.1 billion from an initial public offering in Riyadh, it said on Monday (May 12).
The airline, which is selling a 30 per cent stake to investors in the first IPO by a Gulf airline in almost 20 years, said the price range had been set at between 76 (S$26.50) and 80 riyals per share, implying a market capitalisation of up to US$3.6 billion.
Saudi Arabia has targeted tourism as a key pillar of its domestic economic agenda to reduce reliance on oil revenue.
The kingdom, which attracts tens of millions of religious pilgrims a year to holy Muslim sites in Mecca and Medina, has revamped its tourism industry to attract non-religious visitors.
The listing would be only the third by a Gulf airline after the United Arab Emirates' Air Arabia and Kuwait's Jazeera Airways.
The institutional book-building subscription period, which started on Monday, will close on May 18, flynas said, adding that 34 per cent of net the IPO's net proceeds will be used to finance the airline's growth strategy and for general corporate purposes.
Part of the remaining proceeds will be distributed to selling shareholders, which include Kingdom Holding Company, the investment company founded by Prince Alwaleed. REUTERS
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Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Continuity or reset? Japan, China seek clues to S. Korea President Lee Jae-myung's foreign policy
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The two countries, he said, are close neighbours and partners that have overcome ideological and social differences in the 33 years since establishing diplomatic ties to develop stable and healthy relations. This partnership 'not only improved the well-being of the citizens in both countries, but also promoted regional peace and stability', Mr Xi added, according to state media reports. 'China is willing to work with South Korea to adhere to the original intention of the establishment of diplomatic ties and firmly follow the rules of good neighbourliness and friendship,' Mr Xi said, noting that this is to the benefit of both countries at a time of growing regional and international uncertainty. Over in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivered a similar message of working together as 'partners' and close neighbours to tackle global challenges, as the countries celebrate the 60th anniversary of bilateral ties in 2025. 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Japan's position is that all wartime reparations have been 'completely and finally' settled under a 1965 agreement to normalise ties, with Tokyo paying US$500 million (worth about US$5 billion today, or S$6.4 billion) in grants and low-interest long-term loans to South Korea. But past South Korean administrations have repeatedly brought up historical issues, including comfort women and wartime labour, casting a pall over bilateral relations. 'Even if the administration takes a conciliatory stance towards Japan at the start, it could gradually evolve into a hardline stance towards Japan,' a Japanese Foreign Ministry official was quoted as telling the Mainichi newspaper. Another official was cautiously optimistic, saying it would be foolhardy to stoke anti-Japan sentiment at this time, given the positive public opinion. North Korea's military involvement in Russia's invasion of Ukraine also means that geopolitical calculations would have changed, the official was cited as saying. Kobe University's Professor Kan Kimura told The Straits Times that the way forward is unpredictable, given that invoking history would be a non-starter for Japan. 'Lee's language over history and territorial disputes is going to be provocative,' he said. 'The question is whether both countries can delink history with economic and security issues.' He saw it in Seoul's interests to maintain close ties with Tokyo, saying: 'Given that South Korean public opinion towards China is worsening, North Korea is refusing to engage in dialogue with South Korea, and the US is exerting pressure including through tariffs, objectively speaking, South Korea has almost no diplomatic options.' Analysts in China told ST that ties will likely thaw between Beijing and Seoul under Mr Lee, whom they expect will strike a better balance amid US-China competition. Associate Professor Zhang Guangxin at Zhejiang Gongshang University's East Asian Institute in Hangzhou noted that despite Yoon's pivot to the US that had chilled bilateral relations with China, trade between the two countries remains robust. Exports from South Korea to China grew 6.6 per cent in 2024 from a year ago, which underscores the robust trade relations, Prof Zhang noted. 'Mr Lee's clear victory over the People Power Party (which Yoon belonged to) shows the South Korean public's desire for economic stability,' he said. Prof Kim Chang Hyun of the China-Europe International Business School in Shanghai, meanwhile, said business elites in South Korea no longer see China as solely a big market for their products but 'an important partner to learn from', pointing to China's advances in green technology and artificial intelligence. The two experts said that public opinion in South Korea towards the US is likely deteriorating, given US President Donald Trump's demands that Seoul pay more for defence, and the threat of 'reciprocal tariffs' of 25 per cent. Students from South Korea – the third-largest source of foreign students to the US – are also facing heightened uncertainty over Mr Trump's immigration policies. 'There will be some rebalancing in public opinion in South Korea towards the US now,' Prof Kim said. Walter Sim is Japan correspondent at The Straits Times. Based in Tokyo, he writes about political, economic and socio-cultural issues. Aw Cheng Wei is The Straits Times' China correspondent, based in Chongqing. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
Singapore can leverage trust premium, crisis readiness for new growth opportunities: Chee Hong Tat
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Business Times
7 hours ago
- Business Times
Thai parliament to deliberate casino Bill next month
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