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DUSHANBE (TCA) — It seems that Tajikistan’s national airline company will soon have a new owner, connected to the family of the country’s president. We are republishing this article on the issue, originally published by Eurasianet: Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — China Southern Airlines was named one of the top five airlines in Kyrgyzstan in 2018, China’s Xinhua news agency reported citing Kyrgyz authorities. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyz MPs offered to sell the national airline Air Kyrgyzstan to Chinese investors. Earlier, Chinese companies expressed interest in purchasing Air Kyrgyzstan. If purchased, the investor promised to bring 12 aircraft to the company within five years, the MPs said. Minister of Transport and Roads of Kyrgyzstan Jamshitbek Kalilov confirmed the interest of Chinese investors in the purchase of Air Kyrgyzstan, although there were no official applications to the State Property Management Fund. But even taking into account the difficult financial situation of the airline, the minister considers the idea of selling it to be doubtful. Current situation Kyrgyzstan’s state-owned fleet consists of one aircraft, which is not currently operating because its engine is under repair. Earlier, Kyrgyzstan offered to sell 49% of Air Kyrgyzstan’s shares, but a foreign investor wanted to buy a controlling stake. According to the State Property Management Fund of Kyrgyzstan, the company’s net profit plan for 2017 was 10.6 million soms but the result was 7 million soms without dividends. Air Kyrgyzstan’s assets are 639.8 million soms, and loan debt is 302.6 million soms. Due to the difficult financial situation, the company cannot pay salaries to its employees, and it was forced to reduce the staff. The company has four aircrafts including a Boeing 737-500 which stands idle at the Manas International Airport due to technical malfunction of its engine, and Air Kyrgyzstan’s flights are postponed indefinitely. The second aircraft, a Boeing 737-300, is subleased in Romania. The third one, a Tu-154, has not been operated since 2012, when the Aviation Department imposed a restriction on this kind of aircrafts due to aviation safety rules. The fourth aircraft, a Boeing 737-200, has not been operated since 2009. Unable to compete The analysis of Air Kyrgyzstan’s financial and economic activity revealed two reasons why the airline came to this situation. In 2008, the State Property Fund transferred the shares of the Altyn Air state-owned airline from the Kyrgyzaltyn JSC to Air Kyrgyzstan, which resulted in debts of 94.5 million soms. Kyrgyzaltyn, the state owned gold mining company and the shareholder of Centerra Gold Inc., tried to return this amount in 2010 through the courts, but the then government helped Air Kyrgyzstan to pay off the debt within three years. The second cause is competition. In 2012 and 2013, large Turkish airlines, Atlasjet and Pegasus, entered the Kyrgyz market. In addition, the Russian Aeroflot operated there. Air Kyrgyzstan did not have modern aircrafts to compete. Since January 2018, the airline has not operated flights, and over 30 employees are on leave without pay. Privatization or trust management? The national privatization program for 2015-2017 provided for the privatization of 51% of the state share in Air Kyrgyzstan. The State Property Fund conducted negotiations with Korean, Arab and Chinese investors, but to no avail. The state-owned company did not have support from the State, and investors did not want to deal with it. The Chinese side requested a controlling stake but according to Kyrgyzstan’s law, 51%...
TASHKENT (TCA) — The World Bank Group and the State Investment Committee of Uzbekistan in August signed an agreement on comprehensive advisory services to support the modernization of the civil aviation sector in Uzbekistan. It is the first ever Reimbursable Advisory Services Agreement between the World Bank Group and the Government of Uzbekistan, the Bank said on September 6. Continue reading
ASHGABAT (TCA) — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Turkmenistan and the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized a workshop from 16 to 17 August on how to set up an Advance Passenger Information (API) system in Turkmenistan. The event was part of wider efforts to prevent the movement of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and enhance aviation security. Continue reading
ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan’s tourism industry is facing ambitious tasks — to increase the share of tourism from the current 1% to 8% of GDP by 2025 and to raise the employment from 390 thousand people in 2017 up to 660 thousand by 2025, Chairperson of the Tourism Industry Committee of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan, Mainyura Murzamadiyeva, said in an interview with PrimeMinister.kz. Continue reading
