ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 15. The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) took part in the initial offering (IPO) of common shares of Air Astana JSC, Trend reports.
According to the NBK, the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (UAPF) purchased 24.9 billion tenge (about 55.6 million) in common shares of Air Astana JSC at a price of 1,073.83 tenge (approximately $2.4) per share for its pension asset portfolio.
As a result, the total number of purchased common shares of Air Astana JSC was 23,168,975, accounting for 6.5 percent of the company's total issued shares.
"The acquisition of common shares of high-quality Kazakhstan issuers is aimed at diversifying the investment portfolio of UAPF pension assets and will help increase its profitability in the long term. The decision to invest pension assets of the UAPF into ordinary shares of Air Astana JSC was based on stable financial performance as well as the high profitability of the company’s activities, which allows it to pay stable dividends in the future," the banks said.
Earlier, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested $41.99 million into shares of Kazakhstan’s flagship carrier, Air Astana, supporting the country’s first partial privatization through an initial public offering (IPO).
The EBRD’s investment represents a five percent shareholding in Air Astana.
The shares will be listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange.
As the EBRD noted, the IPO funds, including the bank’s investment, will be deployed to support Air Astana’s fleet expansion and renewal program, the construction of an aircraft maintenance facility, and the acquisition of a flight simulator.
To note, Air Astana will be aiming to expand its current fleet to 80 aircraft by 2029 by acquiring new fuel-efficient planes.